


Bruising & Breaking

by twoplayer_gays1031



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Anxiety & Creativity - Freeform, Anxiety x Creativity, Anxiety/Creativity - Freeform, Human Sides (Sanders Sides), Joan & Talyn - Freeform, Joan x Talyn, Joan/Talyn - Freeform, M/M, Morality & Logic - Freeform, Morality x Logic - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Other, Patton & Logan - Freeform, Patton x Logan - Freeform, Patton/Logan - Freeform, Possible Smut?, Prinxiety - Freeform, Sanders Sides - Freeform, Slow Burn, So also first tags, They kinda suck, Virgil & Roman "Princey", Virgil & Roman - Freeform, Virgil x Roman "Princey", Virgil x Roman - Freeform, Virgil/Roman "Princey", Virgil/Roman - Freeform, enjoy my trash fic, first fanfic, idk - Freeform, logicality - Freeform, maybe? - Freeform, morality/logic - Freeform, no seriously, thomas sanders - Freeform, very slow burn, whatever
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2019-07-10
Packaged: 2019-07-12 08:35:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 20,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15991586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twoplayer_gays1031/pseuds/twoplayer_gays1031
Summary: Virgil Raine had admitted himself to the cheapest hospital he could find a little over a year ago. He has a disease that causes severe bruising, pain, and bleeding. Once there, he meets Logan Sanders. Logan has slowly started going blind after developing Glaucoma at an oddly rare young age, a little over a year ago. He lives in the hospital while attempting to save money for surgery. They spend a year in this cheap hospital with rude and uncaring nurses and doctors. Almost all of the patients have no choice but to stay due to their low amount of money. One day, however, a new nurse is hired, Patton Ortiz. He cares deeply for each and every patient, but enjoys spending much of his day with Logan and Virgil. A week after meeting the two patients, Patton's high school friend, Roman Prince, comes back from his Broadway play to find Patton in distress caring for the two men, who have completely taken over his life. They all eventually connect over their very different, but very strong dreams.Story also available on Wattpad and Quotev:Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/myworks/161738184-bruising-&-breakingQuotev: https://www.quotev.com/story/11301089/Bruising-Breaking





	1. bandages & sandwiches

    Virgil frantically reached for the button on the frame of his bed. The button usually doesn't work, but he might as well try. While waiting, he used the dirty sheets around him to attempt to stop the bleeding.  
    Five minutes later, a nurse came walking in while talking on the phone. She glanced over at Virgil, then shifted her eyes to the small stream of blood coming from his forearm. She looked for a second, then returned her attention to the phone call.  
    ”Yeah... Mhmm...” She mumbled, ”Yeah, stupid patients taking up my precious time,” she sighed, and continued the talk for another minute before finally hanging up. Meanwhile, Virgil was still bleeding.  
    ”What?” She glared at him, her tone icy, making it seem like Virgil was being scolded because of his disease.  
    ”I... cut my arm. On the nail sticking out of the wall. I was just trying to grab my pho--”  
    ”Yeah, okay whatever. Take some of the medicine in one of those drawers,” She pointed to a set of drawers right next to her, “and then wrap it up. It should be fine.” She threw a dirty paper towel at him, telling him to use it to wrap his arm. She waved her hand as if this information is obvious, and then strolled out, again picking up her phone.  
    Virgil slowly stood up to retrieve the medicine, glad that his joints didn’t ache today. He reached the cabinet and kneeled down to search through the drawers.  
    “What are you doing, Virgil?”  
    Virgil turned quickly to see Logan sitting up in his bed, “Oh, you’re awake. Well, the nurse told me I had to take some of this medicine...” Virgil sounded unsure, but he chose to believe the nurse anyway.  
    “I hope you know that medicine will not help you, correct?” Logan sighed, “That nurse does not know what she is talking about. Giving you incorrect medical information could harm you. Why am I not surprised that these incompetent nurses do not even know basic first aid?” Logan ranted, sounding indignant, but still like his usual robotically smart self. After sharing a room with someone for over a year, you get to know them quite well, even if they seem emotionless.  
    “Well, I dunno what to do, nerd.” Virgil slipped in the nickname to try to make light of the fact that he still hadn’t stopped bleeding, and that blood had dripped all over the floor.  
    “It is, ‘do not know’, Virgil. The word ‘dunno’ is atrocious. Anyway, you should clean it in the sink in the bathroom, because it is cleaner, and then come back to wrap it up. Elevate your arm above your heart, so as to slow blood flow to the area. Keep pressure on the wound until it stops bleeding, although with your condition that will probably take awhile.” Logan clearly took immense pleasure in explaining things, but at this moment he seemed more concerned about Virgil than about showing his intelligence.  
    “Okay...” Virgil mumbled, stepping out of the room and toward the bathroom. As much as Virgil has gotten used to Logan’s presence, it’s unsettling how quickly Logan actually began to care about him. Usually, it never happens at all.  
    Once he reached the bathroom, he headed to the one faucet that he remembered working and turned it on. He winced as he ran the freezing water over his still bleeding wound. The pink water, stained with his blood, swirled down into the drain. Virgil stayed there for much longer than he had to. He headed back to await further instructions from Logan.  
    Once he arrived, Logan asked, “Did the nurse give you anything to wrap up your arm? I overheard her giving you instructions to do so.”  
    “Yeah, why?”  
    “What is it?” Logan squinted, trying to see what Virgil was holding.  
    “A paper towel. It was on the counter. I think it’s used.”  
    “Do not use that. Your wound will become infected if you do. I believe there are clean sheets in one of the cabinets above my bed. I remember a janitor complaining to someone on the phone that he had to clean the sheets and restock every cabinet, but that he only did it for one bed per room. Of course, he said the only reason he did it at all was that they had threatened to fire him.”  
    As Logan spoke, Virgil reached up to his cabinet to find the sheets, surprised Logan would even let him have them, since he was a bit of a clean freak. Virgil just barely reached them, even standing on his toes, but was able to pull them down.  
    He took the pillowcase, the smallest item in the pile, and wrapped it around his arm tight enough to apply pressure, but not enough to hurt himself. He then lied down on his bed once again, setting his arm onto the frame so that it was elevated above his heart like Logan said.  
    Virgil stayed silent for a minute, then asked, “How’s your eyesight?”  
    “Decent. My condition has not changed since yesterday. My vision has not gotten worse, but it will not improve either.”  
    “Still only able to see what’s in the middle of your field of view?” Virgil’s voice showed that he was clearly concerned.  
    “Yes, Virgil. I still have darkness in my peripheral vision.”  
    “Oh.” Virgil had nothing left to say. He knew that Logan most likely would not get the money he needed for the surgery to fix his Glaucoma. Even if he could get the surgery, it wouldn’t cure him completely. Virgil couldn’t help hoping though.  
    The two had long ago lost hope for themselves, but not for each other. After having met, the two wouldn’t separate. If they ever went to the hospital cafeteria, which was rare, they would sit far from everyone else, patients and visitors. They knew that if anything bumped against Virgil he would have a giant bruise on him for weeks, or he might even start bleeding.  
    Most of the time they stayed in their room to eat. The nurses hated them for it, forcing them to bring the two food. Logan and Virgil would talk about random things, whatever comes to mind. Astrology, animals, music, happy memories from their childhoods, even though Logan had more of those than Virgil. This wasn’t something they did only during lunch. They talked almost all the time unless Virgil wanted some quiet.  
    What they didn’t talk about though, what was rarely brought up, were two things. Virgil’s past, and their diseases.  
    Virgil, however, was concerned about Logan. His condition has gotten worse over the past year, and he was losing his eyesight more rapidly. Virgil had been asking about it every day for the past week.  
    Logan and Virgil lied in their beds while Virgil kept his arm elevated, talking about what school was like, one of Logan’s favorite topics.  
    Logan glanced at the clock, “Get ready to press the button, it’s almost 12:00.”  
    Virgil’s hand hovered over the button in anticipation for lunch, when the door suddenly opened.  
    In came a nurse with light brown hair, almost blonde, and thick-rimmed black glasses. He was wearing the typical light blue scrubs that were the nurses' outfit, however, what stood out were the bright flower-printed converse he was wearing. He wore a bracelet with light blue beads, written on them the letters BFFS, the word surrounded by two heart-shaped beads. He had freckles across his cheeks, and, weirdest of all, a gigantic smile on his face.  
    He carried in a tray with two sandwiches on them, which was unusual. The cafeteria didn’t sell sandwiches.  
    “Hello!” The nurse beamed, “The guys in the staff room said you guys always ate up here, so I thought I’d make some sandwiches beforehand so you two could have some, too.” As the nurse placed down the tray on a nearby counter, Logan slowly sat up and squinted in the direction of the man. He continued speaking, rambling on, “I was gonna make some downstairs because the kitchen staff wasn’t here. The other nurses said they probably just ditched work, but I doubt it. Why would they? Unless they’re sick, of course. Oh! I’m rambling, aren’t I? Sorry, my name’s Patton Ortiz, but you can just call me Pat!” Somehow, as the man spoke, his grin grew even bigger.  
    Logan stood up and walked toward Patton. Virgil sat up, and with the comparison available, he was able to tell Patton was just a little bit taller than Virgil himself, only by an inch or so, which made Logan at least a foot taller than the nurse.  
    Logan extended his hand out to Patton, and Patton excitedly grabbed it and shook it up and down quickly, still keeping his friendly smile.  
    “My name is Logan Sanders, it is a pleasure to meet you, Patton. Are you a new staff member?”  
    “Yeah! I just got hired a few days ago. Today is my first day! If you don’t mind me asking, what illness do you have? I want to know so I can take care of you better. I’ve got a huge list of all the patients' names and illnesses so I can keep track. I’m kinda bad with names.”  
    Surprisingly to Virgil, Logan didn’t comment on the use of the word, ‘kinda’. Instead, he answered Patton’s question, “I have Glaucoma. I am only staying here so I can learn to function while unable to see. I am attempting to save the money for surgery.”  
    “Ohhhh, well, that explains the squinting. I can _see_ why you were doing that now.” Patton grinned, awaiting a response to his pun.  
    Logan looked confused, glancing over at Virgil. Seeing this, Virgil’s smile grew.  
    “It was a joke, Logan.”  
    “Oh, yes. Was it one of those ‘dad jokes’ you always show me when you find them online?” Logan asked Virgil.  
    “Yep.”  
    The corner of Logan’s lip curled up in a sort of half smile as he turned to face Patton again, “It was very humorous, Patton.”  
    “Yay!” How had his smile grown even bigger? “So, what’s your name?” Patton said as he turned to Virgil.  
    “Uhh... Virgil.” He gave a weak smile back to Patton, but only because he was nervous. No one in this hospital was ever this nice.  
    “Nice to meet you, Virgil! You like dad jokes, too? Also, I like your purple hair. You should probably get it re-dyed, though. It’s starting to fade to brown again.”  
    Virgil reached his right hand up to touch his hair, for his left arm was still resting on his bed frame. He responded to Patton, “Um... nice to meet you, too... Yes, I do like dad jokes, and... thanks? I know I should get it re-dyed, but I can’t exactly leave the hospital right now.”  
    “Aww, why’s that?” The nurse asked.  
    “Because of my Hemophilia B.”  
    “Hemophipillow-what now? I don’t remember learning about that in school.” Patton sounded upset that he didn’t know, like it pained him to not know how to take care of Virgil.  
    “Hemophilia B. It is a disease that can be caused by hereditary means, in other words, the inheritance from parents, or through a spontaneous gene mutation while developing. Virgil experienced the latter. It is a rare genetic disorder that only affects males, even though women can carry it. It causes the person’s blood to clot incorrectly, which leads to severe bruising or even bleeding. Bleeding is usually prolonged and takes a long time to clot. There is also the possibility of internal bleeding, which can pool in the joints and cause pain and swelling.” While Logan explained, Patton wrote everything down.  
Patton turned to Virgil, “Is that why you have a makeshift bandage on your arm? Did you get hurt earlier or something?” Virgil only nodded in response, not wanting to go too in-depth with a stranger, no matter how kind Patton appeared to be.  
Logan, attempting to take the obviously uncomfortable attention away from Virgil, then said, “It is also called the Christmas Disease if you have a hard time pronouncing the name.”  
    Patton looked excited upon hearing the name, “Well that sure sounds better than Hemopabilimaba B.”  
    “Hemophilia B.” Logan corrected.  
    Virgil, however, during Logan’s speech, was amazed at how much he knew, considering they don’t talk much about it. Logan probably researched it at one point. It warmed Virgil’s heart to see that Logan cared enough to research the thing that caused him pain almost daily.  
    Patton then glanced up at the clock on the wall. “Oh shoot! Lunch started a minute ago. Well, It was nice meeting you guys! Enjoy your sandwiches!” Patton took the paper plates with the sandwiches and handed one to each man. Tucking the tray under his arm, he waved to Logan and Virgil as he bolted out of the door.  
    “That was very... unnatural,” Logan stated, still staring at the door.  
    “Yeah, people here are never that nice. None of them even care. I really hope he stays.” Virgil responded.  
    Logan then took a bite of the sandwich, and his eyes widened. He finished chewing and then looked to Virgil with amazement, “Virgil, this is the best thing I have eaten in over a year.”  
    “Wait, really? The food here is always shit.” Virgil took a bite, “Oh my god. Patton is a miracle.” He said with his mouth still full.  
    “Indeed he is,” Logan responded as he sat down on his bed, “He is the kindest nurse to have ever walked into our room.”  
    The two finished their food in relative silence, still talking, but far more focused on eating.  
    When they finished their food, they threw away the plates and began talking again. This time, however, they spoke of food, things that made them happy, and Logan was even allowing Virgil to search Reddit and Tumblr for some dad jokes to tell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first ever fanfic, so if anyone ever reads this, tell me what you think, please! I will try to update every two weeks, but if I'm able to, I might post chapters a week early if I have some ideas.  
> SANDERS SIDES BELONG TO THOMAS SANDERS.  
> 


	2. phone calls & hospital halls

    Patton, with only an hour left of his shift, headed back to the staff room, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. He tapped on the contact “drama queen”, with two emojis, a smiling cat and a crown. He excitedly waited for him to answer. Patton was literally jumping up and down with anticipation.  
   He picked up and instantly started yelling into the phone, “Pat! I miss you sooo much!” Roman practically sang into the phone.  
    “Roman! You’re going to see me in a week, calm down! Also, I miss you, too.” Patton’s grin grew as he spoke to his old friend.  
    “I knoooow, but I can’t help it!” Roman sighed, “Anyway, how was your first day as a nurse, Pat?”  
    “It was amazing! I met so many new people! The patients are all so kind and I feel so bad for them, but at least I can help them! I met this sweet old lady, Mrs. Potter. She’s so nice and kind, ahh! Also, I met this sweet little 14-year-old boy with a broken leg. He said he broke it during marching band. Do you remember marching band! Ah, I miss the flute section so much. There were also these two guys who looked about our age. Well, I don’t know, the one with eyeshadow could be younger, maybe a teenager. Anyway, their names are Logan and Virgil and they’re so nice and sweet. I feel so bad for them. Logan’s nearly blind and Virgil had this horrible disease called Heno... haba...” He struggled with the name, “Ah, whatever! Called the Christmas Disease. Oh! And also...!”  
    Patton continued with his long list of patients, Roman listening intently. Once Patton was done, he listened to Roman’s story about that night’s performance.  
    “Well, the understudy for Jared, Thomas Sanders, was amazing today! Especially during “Sincerely, Me”. He had to step in last minute before the show started, but he was fantastic. Afterward, people asked me for many autographs, of course. As the main character of the show, people usually come to me first to chat, but I must admit today wasn’t my best performance. I was so distracted during “Anybody Have a Map?”, I was totally spaced out! I forgot to respond to Heidi!”  
    “Oh no. You never get distracted! What’s wrong?” Patton sounded distressed.  
    “I’m just very busy with buying plane tickets and packing. I’ve been getting slightly less sleep than I need to be my normal fabulous self. Also, I just miss you so much! I know we’ve been FaceTiming like, almost daily, but it’s not the same as seeing you in person, Pat.” Roman’s voice had dropped its bold and confident tone of voice as he began speaking about how desperate he is to see his friend.  
    “Oh, Roman. It’s okay. We’ll see each other soon. We’ll FaceTime when I get back home. I still have about an hour of work.”  
    “Goodbye, my lovely friend!” Roman sang into the phone.  
    “Bye, Ro!” Patton sighed as he hung up, then he sat still for about 2 seconds before jumping from his seat at the sound of a loud beep.  
    Patton looked over to the source of the noise and saw that there was a message on the small screen in the corner of the room. It said there was a request for a nurse in room 336. He instantly headed toward the door and up to the third floor to assist them.  
    On the way there, he tried to remember who was in the room. He had just met all of these people today, how was he supposed to remember?  
    He walked into the room and saw Logan kneeling down next to Virgil, who was on the floor. Logan had a clear expression of concern and fear, as he looked at the bright maroon bruise that had formed on Virgil’s calf.  
    “Oh my god, Virgil!” Patton yelled, instantly dropping to his knees at Virgil’s side, “What happened? Are you okay?”  
    Virgil didn’t say anything. Instead, Logan replied, “I was in the bathroom, and when I returned, he was lying on the floor with this bruise. He refuses to explain why.” Logan’s concern was clear.  
    “I’m fine, I swear. It’s okay,” Virgil lied, “I was just moving around and my leg bumped up against the cabinet. It’s fine, guys. It’ll fade.”  
    Patton was skeptical, Virgil didn’t sound like he was actually okay. Patton accepted it, however, because he understood if Virgil wasn’t ready to explain anything to him yet, considering he was still a complete stranger.  
    “Okay,” Logan said, “but Patton, stay here, please. It would be nice to have someone around, just in case.”  
    “Alright, but I don’t care what you say, Virgil. Even if you are fine, that must hurt! I’ll get you some pain medicine, okay, kiddo?” Patton said, his voice laced with concern.  
    Virgil sighed, and then nodded, accepting the nurse’s kindness. As Logan stood up, Virgil extended his hand to him, silently asking for his help in standing.  
    Logan grabbed Virgil’s hand to help him stand up, and then he led him to his bed. After Virgil was laying down, Logan sat on his own bed, waiting for Patton.  
    Patton returned to the room with a non-prescription bottle of pain medicine. He handed two pills to Virgil with a cup of water. He then sat down next to Logan on the bed and watched Virgil take the medicine.  
    “You alright now, kiddo?”  
    “Yeah... but, why do you call me that? I’m 19.” Virgil asked.  
    “Well, it’s just a nickname! And, besides, you’re a kiddo to me. I’m 25!”  
    “Oh,” Virgil responded dumbly, “For some reason, you seem much younger than that.”  
    Logan supplied his usual smart outlook on things, “It is probably because he acts young. Childish, even.” Logan paused for a second, and then a look of shock crossed his face. He quickly said, “Of course, that isn’t a bad thing! I just mean you are... energetic and fun.”  
    “Aww, thanks, Logan!” Patton seems genuinely happy with the compliment. Logan breathed a sigh of relief.  
    Patton brought his feet up onto the bed. He rested his elbows onto his knees, and his chin on his hands, “Soooo, whatcha guys wanna talk about?” He smiled.  
    Logan and Virgil glanced at each other, “Well,” Logan said, “before I left for the bathroom we were talking about music.”  
    Patton beamed, “Oh my god, what kind of music do you guys like?! I was in band when I was in school. It was so fun! I played flute with my friend Roman Prince, and we were in the Jazz band and Marching band together. Ahh, I miss high school so much!” He sighed.  
    “Oh, really? Do you play any other instruments? I do not believe flutes are included in a typical Jazz band.”  
    “Yeah, actually. I played guitar and Roman did drums. It was so fun.”  
    “Okay, so wait. The name you said earlier, Roman Prince? Isn’t he on Broadway?” Virgil asked.  
    “Yeah! He played Evan Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen once Taylor Trensch left. He’s going to be quitting the show soon, though. His understudy is taking over. Also, you like musicals, too?!” Patton exclaimed.  
    “Yeah, I do,” Virgil explained, “but the nerd here usually gets too caught up in the backstories and ‘incorrect’ things in plays and musicals so much that he can’t focus on the plot.”  
    “Okay, but you have to admit, the real Schuyler sisters had a brother, Philip Jeremiah Schuyler, and Angelica clearly says otherwise!” Logan fumed, “And there are many other discrepancies between the story and actual history in that musical alone.”  
    “But the songs are good,” Virgil argued.  
    “Yes, I have to concede your point. The songs are great.” Logan admitted.  
    During their small argument, Patton couldn’t stop himself from smiling. The two were adorable!  
    “What other musicals do you guys like?” Patton asked.  
    “Uhh...” Virgil struggled to remember them all, “A few off the top my head are, obviously, Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Be More Chill, Heathers, Wicked, Waitress, Kinky Boots, Falsettos, The Book of Mormon...”  
    “Note that I really do not understand most of these. Almost every story is completely nonsensical.” Logan interrupted.  
    Patton lightly smacked Logan on the arm, “Oh you just need to ignore some small things and just enjoy it! It’s a story, it doesn’t have to completely make sense!”  
    Logan sighed and continued listening to Virgil’s list. The three men talked long past Patton’s shift, but he returned home a little after two hours of talking.  
    As Patton skipped through his front door, he threw his bag next to the door and flopped down onto the couch. He excitedly pets his small grey cat, Salamander, as he climbed into the nurse’s stomach.  
    “Hey, Sal.” He said as he picked up his phone, “You wanna see Uncle Roman?” He asked the cat. He got a stare in response.  
    “Well, that’s a yes to me!” He picked up the cat and brought him closer to his face as he pressed the button to FaceTime his dramatic friend.  
    “Oh my lord, Patton are you okay?” Roman asked as his face showed up on the screen, “You’re home much later than normal! Did something happen? When I get there do I have to hurt someone?  Because I will—!”  
    Patton quickly interrupted him, rushing to reassure him of his safety. Roman could get a bit overprotective. “Roman, I’m fine! I was just talking to some patients! They had an issue and asked me to stay, just in case, so I did. It’s okay, they’re super nice.”  
    “Oh, alright! As long as you’re fine, my friend. Which patients were these?”  
    “The ones I told you about earlier, Virgil and Logan. We talked about so many random things, but it was so fun! They love musicals and stars and constellations, and Logan is like, super smart, and Virgil is adorably nervous. He’s so kind, also. Oh! And they’ve heard of you! They’re both fans of Dear Evan Hansen.”  
    “They know me?!” Roman gasped, “Well I’m honored! I want to meet these two when I come home. They sound fantastic, Pat.”  
    “They really are, Roman. I’m so glad to have met so many nice people! And only on my first day!”  
  
——  
  
    After Patton left, Logan and Virgil continued their conversation, but the room felt somewhat empty. Without the presence of the energetic and upbeat nurse, the room felt a little less bright.  
    Virgil’s bruise had turned a darker purple, and it was starting to swell a bit, but at least the pain was dulled by the medicine.  
    Logan and Virgil had eventually gone to sleep around midnight, later than usual. With the uncaring staff and lack of things to do, there wasn’t much reason to stay up late. However, with Patton now in their lives, the two seemed a little bit happier in the hospital.  
  
    The next morning, the sun shone brightly through the window, blinding Virgil as he half-squinted, half-glared at the window.  
    He stood up to move the curtains over the glass when his leg suddenly collapsed under him, making him fall back into his bed. He forgot about his bruise.  
    Pain suddenly filled his body to the brim, and he struggled not to grimace as he positioned himself back onto the bed.  
    Logan was still asleep, so Virgil wasn’t going to bother him about closing the curtains. Instead, he turned on his side to face the door, away from the window.  
    He reached for his phone on the small table beside the bed, unlocking it and mindlessly scrolled through every social media app imaginable.  
    As Logan slowly opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed, right in the center of his blurred vision, was the dark purple, slightly yellow-ish bruise covering nearly half of Virgil's calf. He winced as he imagined the pain Virgil was most likely experiencing.  
    “Are you alright, Virgil?”  
He asked, “Your bruise has gotten significantly worse than it was last night.”  
    “Yeah, kind of,” Virgil mumbled in response, “but I can’t really... stand.”  
    “Are you certain? The pain is that severe?” Logan questioned, his worry obvious.  
    “Um... I guess?”  
    “I will retrieve breakfast for you, then,” Logan said as he took his glasses from his bedside table, placing them on.  
    While it was allowed for nurses to bring them their lunches and dinners, it was mandatory that every patient come to get their own breakfast. Truly, the rule was only in place so that the staff did less work, but they said it was so that they could keep track of them.  
    Virgil knew not to fight Logan about this. He could tell by the tone of Logan’s voice that he wasn’t going to budge, “Okay.”  Virgil sighed in agreement.  
    Logan stepped out of the room into the hallway, heading for the bathroom to brush his teeth and change. The only places to change were his room and a bathroom stall, and, although he did care about Virgil, changing in front of him was not something he was very comfortable with.  
    Logan put on the usual outfit that he wore whenever he wasn’t in his room. Black jeans, a black polo shirt, and a tie, along with some dark, shiny dress shoes. After changing, he returned his stuff to the room and then headed down to the first floor.  
    As he walked, he looked at the walls and floors of the place, annoyed by the clearly unswept floor and the slightly peeled wallpaper. He kicked at a small pebble sitting on the floor.  
    Opening the doors to the cafeteria, he expected to be hit with the unpleasant smell of the kitchen staff’s cooking, but instead, the smell of bacon flooded into the hallway.  
    Logan squinted, looking around the room with amazement as he saw other patients happily eating waffles, pancakes, bacon, eggs, French toast, breakfast sausages, and a variety of other breakfast foods.  
    He turned his attention to the small open window in the wall leading to the kitchen, and surprisingly, he saw the regular kitchen staff making the food. He walked up to the window to order.  
    Logan decided on getting Virgil bacon and eggs while he himself ordered French toast. He decided to ask what was going on.  
    “This is an unusual variety of foods. What is going on?” He asked the lady behind the counter.  
    “A new nurse taught us how to make some ‘better’ food. I personally think it was good before! Anyway, he said he would get us something if we just tried to make this stuff, so we agreed.” She explained.  
    Logan nodded, “Ah, I see. What was this nurse’s name?” He asked, even though he was completely certain he knew who it was.  
    “I don’t know, man. I don’t care either.” The woman glared at him for a few seconds before returning to the back of the kitchen.  
    While Logan waited for his order, he unlocked his phone and sent a text to Virgil. It read, “Unsurprisingly, Patton has taken over the kitchen.”  
    Virgil responded in his typical way, with a short message, “oof.”  
    Logan rolled his eyes after receiving the message. He started to type out a reply, but instead nearly dropped his phone in surprise when someone poked him on the shoulder.  
    He turned to see Patton beaming up at him, “Heya, Logan!” He cheered.  
    Today, Patton was still wearing the usual nurse scrubs, as well as his glasses, but his shoes had changed. They were now grey converse with small yellow flowers drawn all over them. He still had his “BFFS” friendship bracelet and that typical gigantic smile that spread across freckled cheeks.  
    Logan couldn’t help the smile that grew on his face upon seeing the short nurse, “Salutations, Patton.”  
    Patton giggled at the word, “I’ve never heard anybody use that word unironically, but I’m not surprised that I heard it from you first.”  
    Logan’s smile turned into a sort of half-smirk, asking, “And what is that supposed to mean?”  
    “Well, because you’re so smart, y’know? It’s really cool how much you know about stuff.” Patton’s smile turned soft and caring as he spoke. He sounded truly genuine.  
    In all honesty, Logan didn’t know what he expected to hear, but it wasn’t that. Logan looked away from Patton out of embarrassment from the compliment. Before, whenever people talked about his intelligence, they usually phrased it as if it was an awful trait to have, as if it was annoying to them.  
    “Well, thank you, Patton,” Logan responded, not having much else to say.  
    “You’re welcome!” Patton grinned, “So, how’s Virgil today?”  
    “He is still in the room due to his injury from last night. He may nee—“  
    “Here’s your food.” The lady from earlier said, slamming down the tray.  
    “Thank you, ma’am,” Logan said, despite the rudeness. He began walking to a table to continue talking with Patton.  
    “As I was saying, Virgil may need more pain medication, as he says he is unable to walk.”  
    “Oh no. Tell him I’ll get him some once I’m done down here. I love everyone here, but I have to admit the chefs here need some work!” Patton exclaimed, clearly trying not to be rude.  
    “Alright, I will let him know. Thank you for breakfast and this nice chat. I presume I will see you later?”  
    “Definitely! See ya later, alligator!” His smile grew even more as he saw Logan pick up his tray to head back upstairs. Patton suddenly got an idea, “Oh! Wait!” Logan stopped and turned around again to face Patton.  
    Patton reached into the pocket on the front of his nurses' outfit, pulling out his phone. He unlocked it and expectantly looked up at Logan.  
    Logan looked confused, “What are you doing?”  
    “Waiting for you to tell me your phone number, obviously.”  
    “Oh.” Logan was shocked to hear that Patton wanted direct contact with him, but he hid both his disbelief and enthusiasm, instead, choosing to tell Patton his number, as well as Virgil’s.  
    “Thanks! See you later!” Patton then gave Logan a quick side hug and then ran back to the kitchen.  
    Logan stood there for a few seconds, processing what just happened, and then began walking back to room 336.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SANDERS SIDES BELONG TO THOMAS SANDERS
> 
> Okay, so this is a problem. I said my goal was every two weeks and then I write another chapter in two days. I can already tell my schedule is going to be not so great...  
> Oh well, hope you enjoy this chapter! There was a lot of talking in this one.


	3. board games & nicknames

    The sun still shone brightly through the window, but Virgil didn’t mind it. He happily ate his food, once again enjoying it far more than anything he had ever been given at this hospital before. Despite knowing that the kitchen staff had cooked it, like Logan had told him, he knew the food wouldn’t be here without Patton.  
    Virgil surprised himself with his thoughts. He had never grown attached to a person as quickly as he did for the caring nurse. Not only was he a great cook, but he was fun, energetic, kind, paternal, and, surprisingly to Virgil, shared many of the same interests as him.  
    After Logan had returned with the food, he told Virgil that Patton now had their phone numbers. Normally, telling Virgil that someone he met a day ago had such easy access to him would have scared him shitless. But it was Patton.  
    Even though Virgil knew he shouldn’t be so trusting right away, he couldn’t help himself. Trusting others had usually led Virgil to bad situations in the past.  
    Virgil told Logan all of this, openly voicing his thoughts. He explained that he trusted Patton, but that he didn’t trust himself not to mess something up. To do more damage to himself. Virgil had told Logan bits and pieces of his past before, mostly keeping things vague, for is own sake. He couldn’t keep this in, though.  
    “That... is a lot to comprehend, Virgil, but I understand. Patton is unlike anyone we have interacted with for the past year. I can tell, from the minuscule amount of information you have told me, that you do not open up easily.”  
    “Yeah...” Virgil simply agreed, not wanting to elaborate at all. He lowered himself back onto his bed and prepared himself for a long day of doing nothing.

——  
  
    As the clock hands slowly inched closer to noon, Logan and Virgil couldn’t direct their gaze away from the door. The muted ticking of said clock was the only noise in the room as the two patients waited for their nurse.  
    Minutes passed, and no one had come.  
    “I do not think he will be visiting us today, Virgil. Although I do not wish to admit it, we need to recognize that Patton has other patients he must attend to. Press the button to call in one of the usual nurses.”  
    Virgil reluctantly complied, pushing the small button on the frame of his bed, but he couldn’t help the voice in the back of his mind.  
    _He’s hurt, Virgil. He is probably sick or dying somewhere in this very building and you would rather press that button. But either way, you can’t get to him. You can’t because you bruised your leg. You’re pathetic,_ He winced at his own thoughts, _You wouldn’t be injured if you didn’t get up and dance. You were happy, but you know you shouldn’t let yourself be that way._  
_And even worse, Patton is hurt or dying, but he will not call Logan. He will not call you. He has your numbers, but you know he won’t use them,_ Virgil subtly nodded, agreeing with his thoughts, _He doesn’t care. In fact, maybe he isn’t injured. Maybe he just doesn’t want to see you._  
_You’re disgusting,_ He was panicking, _Why would you taint him? Patton has only shown you kindness, in such a short amount of time, and you pay him back by latching on?_ Virgil held onto his head, covering his ears, _By dragging him down with your dead weight? You are disgusting,_ He was hyperventilating, he knew it, but he couldn’t control it now. He was too far gone, too deep, _You are vile. You are the villain, and you are evil, Virgil. Don’t **lie** to yourself._  
    Logan turned around in his bed to face Virgil, “Are you alright? The pace of your breathing seems to have escalated—“ He suddenly stopped talking as he realized what was happening.  
    “Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, Virgil. It’s okay. It’s fine,” Logan, in his panic, began using contractions in his speaking, which he never did, “Patton will return shortly, we’ll see him soon, I promise.”  
    This only made Virgil worse. He didn’t want to bring Patton down with him. Even only having known the man for a day, Virgil knew Patton was much too pure, too kind. He hadn’t been tainted by the cruelty of the world yet. Virgil didn’t want to be the reason why.  
    “Virgil, what’s wrong? Please... I-I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s wrong.”  
    _Logan never stuttered_ , Virgil’s mind told him through all the chaos.  
    “I’m so sorry, please, it’s okay.” Logan desperately tried to convince Virgil, even with the limited amount of knowledge he had about handling a panic attack.  
    The door opened, presumably the nurse with the lunch they had ordered, but neither man was able to look. Virgil, for obvious reasons, and Logan, being far too distracted with trying to calm his only friend.  
    That’s when, through the haze of panic, Virgil felt a comforting hand rubbing circles on his back. He felt his wrist being moved so that his hand was lying flat against someone’s chest. He could feel their even, steady breaths beneath his palm.  
    Virgil then began to tune into the noise and sights around him. He saw Logan barely holding back from sobbing. He also heard two men mumbling that it was okay. Whatever was wrong, it didn’t matter. One man was also calmly saying to breathe with him. Virgil did.  
    One of those voices was Logan. The other, the source of his panic in the first place. Virgil, however, was far too weak to back away from the caring nurse, instead resting his head in Patton’s shoulder to hug him.  
    “Thanks,” Virgil mumbled against a small light blue-clad shoulder.  
    “Of course, kiddo.” The nickname wasn’t at all condescending.  
  
——  
  
    Virgil had fallen asleep shortly after that. Patton stayed for longer than was strictly necessary, Logan knew, but he couldn’t force himself to separate Virgil and Patton.  
    Logan still didn’t know what he was supposed to do. Whenever he didn’t know something, he felt the need to learn it right away. This, however, was more important than that. Logan didn’t know how to help Virgil, the only person in the hospital who had cared about him for over a year. Virgil was in trouble, and he didn’t know how to fix it. He felt useless.  
    After Virgil had fallen asleep, Patton turned his attention to Logan.  
    “You okay?” He asked.  
    “Of course. Why would I not be alright? Virgil was the one in trouble .” Logan responded.  
    “You seem... a little out of it. Not like yourself. Are you sure?”  
    “Yes, I am—,” Logan paused, “No. I am not ‘okay.’” He finally answered.  
    Patton stood up from Virgil’s bed and sat down next to Logan on his, “Do you mind telling me why, Lo?” His voice was calming and soft.  
    Logan paused for a few seconds, instead focusing on the nickname. He shook his head and answered Patton’s question, “No, of course I do not mind. I am just... not very good with emotions. Whenever I encounter something that I do not know, I have a strong desire to learn it. I did not know how to help Virgil, but not knowing that does not only affect me. It can severely hurt Virgil. If you did not intervene, I do not know what would have happened.”  
    “So... unless you know something, you feel useless?”  
    “Yes. Although some people find it hard to believe, I do care about people, and I do have emotions. People used to tell me that I was like a robot. Smart, yet emotionless. I do feel emotions, but I do not know how to handle them, what they mean, or what I am supposed to do with them.”  
    “Well, of course you have emotions! You were crying over Virgil. You showed so much concern for him last night and just a few minutes ago. Those people are wrong.  But... what do you mean you ‘don’t know what emotions mean?’”  
    Logan sighed and finally turned his head away from Patton, despite his knowledge that eye contact is crucial during conversation, “I simply can not understand them. If I feel anger, I know that I feel anger, but I don’t know where to go from there. Do I tell someone? Do I act on said anger?”  
    “Logan, emotions aren’t something you can plan out ahead of time. They’re sudden and random. They aren’t rational.”  
    Logan turned back to face Patton, “I have figured that out, Patton. I just don’t know what to do once these random emotions come up.”  
    “Alright. I’m not asking you to figure it out now.”  
    “I have one last question, Patton. How did you know what to do?”  
    “Well, I saw that he had all of the symptoms of a panic attack. Sweating, trembling, shortness of breath... all of that, y’know? And the teachers from med school taught us what to do in that kind of situation. I’m glad they did, too. Even if I hadn’t become a nurse, I would want to know how to help people. Just in case I ever saw anyone who needed that help.” Patton spoke quietly, showing Logan, although unintentionally, how humble he was in his care for others. All he wanted was for others to be safe and comfortable. Logan admired that trait more than he could put into words.  
    Even though he had just admitted to himself that he can’t put his appreciation into words, he stupidly tried anyway, “Well, you clearly show an immense amount of care for people,” Logan said, choosing to ignore his awkwardness as Patton’s  serious expression turned into more a shy smile at the compliment, “You care very much, despite the fact that we are strangers. That trait is very admirable... Thank you.”  
    There was a small pause in the room as the two men thought about everything that had happened in the past ten minutes. Patton broke the silence.  
    “Well! What do you wanna do now?”  
    Logan fought not to comment on the word ‘wanna,’ “I have no clue.”  
    “I have board games.” Patton slight smile burst out into a grin.  
    “Why does that not surprise me?”  
    They spent the next 30 minutes eating the food Patton brought and playing board games. When Virgil woke up, he ate and played Monopoly with the two, but stayed silent as he did so.  
    Patton eventually had to return to his shift, and Logan and Virgil continued their game. Virgil won, saying he had “strategy,” even though Logan saw him sneak a few hundreds every now and then. He let it slide, though.  
    Logan desperately wanted to ask Virgil what had been wrong earlier. He felt like he needed to know. Having information was important to him, for Virgil’s sake. He also knew that it would not be good to bring it up again. Resurfacing whatever thoughts had caused his panic would not be good for either of them.  
     
——

For the rest of the day, they didn’t see Patton at all.  
    Virgil didn’t know how to feel. Was he glad? He wouldn’t be a burden if he wasn’t around him. Was he upset? If Patton wasn’t near them, it would mean he’s either too busy or that Virgil truly is a burden. He tried so hard to be optimistic, to think that Patton was just busy.  
    He had trouble sleeping that night. All he could think of was how caring Patton was with him earlier. Was it care for Virgil, his nurse training, or simply just his kind nature? He also thought of the nurse that had shown up later instead of Patton.  
    The man had brought them dinner that was made by someone who was taught by Patton, that much was clear. The way the man gave them the food, however...  
    He had slammed the tray into the counter, screaming angrily into his phone. Presumably to his wife, whom he had called ‘bitch’ and ‘whore.’  
    Virgil wanted to scream at the nurse, the horrible man who had walked into his room. The way he treated this anonymous woman made Virgil shiver. It was all way too familiar. Especially the way the man had said ‘I love you,’ despite his cruel words.  
    Virgil fell asleep late that night. Very late, around 5:00 in the morning. The summer sun was rising through the window as he finally collapsed, dropping his nearly dead phone onto the pillow next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SANDERS SIDES BELONG TO THOMAS SANDERS
> 
> Sorry, no Roman this time. Hope you guys enjoyed the angst.


	4. sleepwear & purple hair

    Roman frantically ran around his apartment searching for his old prince costume from 4th grade, looking to place it into the “memories” box he was packing to head back home. He had his phone pressed between his ear and his shoulder as he rummaged around in his overflowing closet.

    “Of course! I’m going to miss NYC so much!” Roman belted into the phone, “But I just simply can’t WAIT to see you, Pat! Oh, it’s been so long!”

    Roman’s roommate answered from across the apartment, “Roman, I know you’re really excited, but please stay quiet. I’m trying to rehearse.”

    “Of course, Thomas,” Roman replied, returning to his conversation with Patton with the same volume and anticipation as before.

    “I know! Only four more days, Ro! I’m so excited!” Patton squealed into the phone.

    “Only three if you don’t count today!” Roman interrupted.

    “You got the day off today from your boss, right? Your understudy is taking over so you can have time to pack?”

    “Yep! Terrence has been so excited to play Evan, and I’ve been so stressed over everything lately!” Roman dramatically sighed, “It all worked out so well. It was simply meant to be.” He sang.

    Patton giggled at the sudden outburst of a Disney song, but nonetheless would never expect anything different from Roman. Patton sat at home, putting on his shoes and eating breakfast. His personal favorite, although simple, bacon and eggs.

    It was nearly 5:00 in the morning, which is when Patton leaves for work. If it was 5:00 in the morning for Patton, it was around 8:00 for Roman.

    As he drove to work, Patton blared some musicals from his phone, inspired by his recent conversation about music with Virgil and Logan. He shuffled songs from a variety of musicals, belting out the lyrics to every song that played.

    When he finally arrived at the hospital, he dropped off his lunch in the staff room and headed to the kitchen to help the cooks with breakfast again.

 

——

 

    After having spent an hour trying to teach another cook the difference between waffles and pancakes, that people had a preference, and that they were prepared differently, Patton finally gave up and instead chose to walk around the halls.

    He had yet to explore the hospital completely, and he probably would never see all of it, due to some doors that nurses weren’t allowed to enter. Despite that, the hospital was actually quite small.

    He went through every floor again, greeting every patient who was awake at the time. He decided to visit Virgil and Logan last mainly due to them being on the third floor, but also because he knew that Virgil had a tendency to stay up late. Patton only knew that because Logan had told him.

    When he walked into the room, Patton saw Virgil sleeping next to his phone, which was on two percent. Patton silently grabbed the phone off of the pillow. He reached behind the bedside table to grab Virgil’s charger, which had fallen. As he wrapped his hand around the cord, he began to pull his arm back up, only to feel a dull, stinging pain as his forearm was scratched by a nail.

    _This must have been what caused Virgil’s bleeding that first day,_ Patton thought, staring at the wound.

    He quickly went to the sink to wash his arm under the faucet and wrapped it up. His cut was significantly larger than Virgil’s but he assumed it still bled less.

    Patton went back to the bed and took the charger, finally plugging in the phone. He then left to find the janitors closet, returning a few minutes later with a hammer.

    Attempting to be as silent as possible, Patton moved the small table and kneeled down next to the wall. He saw the nail clearly and cringed when he saw it was rusty. He used the hooked end of the hammer to pull the nail out of the wall, catching it in his hand and standing up to place it in the trash can.

    When he picked up the small table to move it again, a leg of the table scraped against the floor. He stopped moving, for fear of waking up either Logan or Virgil. After a few seconds of stillness, Patton sighed and placed the table back where it belonged. He set the phone in the center of it, moving it from the pillow where it had been charging.

    He backed up from the table and looked at Logan and Virgil, both still presumably asleep. He let out a sigh yet again and headed towards the door.

    Patton heard a bit of movement of the low-quality sheets, followed by a quiet mumble of his name, “Patton?”

    “Yeah?” Patton responded quietly as he turned around. He saw Logan squinting at him, sitting up slightly. His hair was ruffled from sleep and his glasses were still on the table beside his bed.

    “Oh, for a second, I was unable to identify who was here. Hello.” Logan smiled.

    “Hi,” Patton mumbled awkwardly, giving a small wave. He didn’t know why he felt so awkward. Probably because he was in their room without permission.

    “What are you doing in here so early?” Logan said as he reached for his glasses, placing them on. His squinting was a little bit less noticeable now, but he was still doing it slightly, due to his Glaucoma.

    “I just wanted to say hi, but then I saw you were both asleep, so I was gonna leave.” Patton knew be should have ended his sentence there, but he nervously rambled on nonetheless, “Then I saw Virgil’s phone was almost dead. He probably fell asleep using it. Anyway, I went to plug it in and got scratched by a nail, so I got a hammer and took the nail out of the wall.”

    “A nail? I believe that is what caused Virgil’s injury the day we met you.” Logan paused, “Thank you for removing it. Is your injury serious?”

    “Oh. No problem! And, no, I’m fine. It’s just a small cut.” Patton beamed, and Logan gave a small smile in return. Patton, internally freaking out for some unknown reason, began to leave again, “Welp, I gotta go help the kitchen staff!”

    Logan’s smile dropped slightly, and he looked at Patton with something else in his eyes. Like he was calculating him. He paused, and then accused, “Falsehood. Your voice sounds higher pitched than on average and you will not make direct eye contact. Also, you seemed to be bothered by them when we last interacted in the cafeteria.”

    Patton sighed, looking away from Logan, “Yeah, I’m sorry. I do kinda have to help the cooks, but I really don’t want to. They can be such…” He struggled to find words to portray his emotions without being mean, “... rude people! To be completely honest here, I’m also kinda nervous right now. I don’t even know why. I guess it’s just weird being in here when you guys were asleep.”

    Logan’s small smile returned, “I believe Virgil will be happy to see you when he wakes. You can stay if you wish.”

    “Okay.” Patton grinned, knowing it was okay for him to be here. He sat down on one of the chairs to the side of the room, scooting it over to sit next to Logan, “So! Whatcha wanna talk about?”

    “Actually, do you mind turning around for a moment?”

    “Uh... why?” Patton asked, his head tilted slightly to the side.

    “I would feel uncomfortable if we were to talk while I am still in my sleepwear, so I’d prefer to not be shirtless,” Logan replied simply. Patton’s face flushed, and he nodded. He quietly stood up from the chair and awkwardly shuffled into the corner, facing away from Logan.

    After about ten seconds Logan broke the awkward silence, “Alright. What would you like to talk about?” Patton turned around and saw Logan sitting on his bed. He had sweatpants, presumably what he wore while sleeping, as well as a dark blue shirt. His hair had also been tamed, having been combed through with his fingers.

    Patton shrugged in response to Logan question, awkwardly sitting back down on the chair.

    “Your face is abnormally red. Is it hot in here? Are you ill? Or are you perhaps wearing makeup?” Logan flooded out possible reasons, but nonetheless still managing miss the mark.

    Patton laughed, feeling slightly awkward. As much as he hated lying, he had still avoided the truth earlier. He chose to be completely truthful with Logan now, “Well, you were shirtless.”

    “Oh,” Logan said dumbly.

    Patton giggled at Logan’s uncharacteristic response. From what Patton understood, it was hard to leave Logan speechless.

    Logan stares at him for a few seconds, then clears his throat, “Well, why does my being shirtless matter? I was simply sleeping.”

    Patton, still smiling from laughing earlier, responded to Logan’s question, “Well, it’s awkward being around someone when they aren’t wearing a shirt.” His blush was fadin now, and felt a little less awkward around Logan.

    “Alright?” Logan went along with Patton, still not truly understanding why it was so awkward for him.

    “So!” Patton was quick to change the subject, “I was thinking about my friend earlier today. The one on Broadway, remember? Roman Prince?”

    “Yes, I recall your mention of him the day we met.”

    “He’s coming back home in 4 days! If it’s okay with you, I wanna introduce you and Virgil to him.”

    Logan fought to ignore the word ‘wanna,’ but ended up commenting on it anyway, “It’s ‘want to,’ Patton.”

    “What?” Patton questioned.

    Logan’s hands flew to his mouth, but he slowly removed them, still looking shocked, “I... apologize, Patton. I guess I have become accustomed to correcting Virgil. He does not mind, instead thinking of it simply as playful banter. But I normally avoid correcting the grammar of others.”

    “Oh. That’s fine, Lo! I don’t mind. But why’d you react so strongly? I was just confused.”

    Logan sighed, contemplating whether or not to tell Patton. They had only known each other for three days. It took more than five months for Logan to gather the courage to disclose this information to Virgil. Instead of telling the whole truth, he decided to leave some things out.

    “I previously had someone in my life that encouraged me to be intelligent, but only so that they could leech off of my success.” He looked away from Patton, focusing on the floor, “If I ever corrected them or attempted to ignore them, they would...” Logan paused, “They just... did not allow it.”

    Patton was sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest, the heels of his feet on the seat of the chair. His chin was resting on his knees. When Logan looked up again, he saw Patton with his hands over his mouth, and he looked close to crying. Logan was surprised by the amount of care Patton seemed to show.

    “Do not worry. It is alright now. I left that situation a long time ago.”

    Patton suddenly stood from the chair and sat down next to Logan, silently wrapping his arms around the taller man. Logan stiffened, but soon relaxed in the nurse’s embrace. He brought his arms up to reciprocate the hug.

    After the hug, the serious nature of the conversation had fallen away, and the two had talked about nonsensical things, and whatever else they felt like.

    Around 8:30, Patton finally had to leave. He had been pushing it recently with how often he was in room 336. He left long before Virgil woke up. Patton returned briefly while Logan was eating breakfast. He expecting to see Virgil but only found him still asleep.

    When he finally did wake, however, Virgil ate the cold waffles and bacon without protest. This was around 10:30, giving Virgil only a little over five hours of sleep.

    “You seem exhausted, Virgil. When did you fall asleep last night?” Logan said from across the room, glancing up from his phone.

    “None of your business,” Virgil grumbled in response.

    “Typical. You are irritable. Do you want me to get coffee for you?”

    “...Yeah.” Mumbled Virgil.

    When Logan returned from the old, beaten up coffee machine on the counter in their room, he told Virgil about Patton’s visit.

    “He had walked in here, hoping to say hello, and saw that your phone was almost dead. He went to plug it in and got scratched by the nail—“

    “Is he hurt?” Virgil couldn’t help but interrupt.

    “He is fine, Virgil. He said it was just a small cut. As I was saying, he was injured by the nail. He then proceeded to grab a hammer from the janitors closet to remove the nail.” As Logan spoke, Virgil’s slight smile grew more noticeably, “He was beginning to leave, but instead decided to stay. We chatted for a while. However, he did seem very uncomfortable at first. I have no clue why.”

    “Well, did he say why?”

    “Apparently it is because I sleep with no shirt?” Logan sounded very confused.

    Virgil’s smile instantly grew into a giant grin. He smirked at Logan.

    “What is that expression supposed to mean?” He asked incredulously.

    “Dude—“

    “Do not call me that.”

    Virgil sighed, but nonetheless kept his smirk, “Patton was being awkward because he was uncomfortable being around you shirtless.”

    “Yes, I understand that.”

    “No! It means he might think you’re _attractive,_ Logan.”

    Logan paused for a second, “That is absurd, Virgil.”

    Virgil simply rolled his eyes and continued eating. He mumbled under his breath, “I ship it.”

    “What was that?”

    “Nothing.” Virgil’s smirk grew tenfold.

 

——

 

    The rest of the day was spent in relative silence, with only a few more visits from other nurses with lunch and dinner. Virgil was somewhat disappointed that he wasn’t able to see Patton, despite still being plagued by the thoughts from the previous day. He still believed that if he were around Patton, he’d ruin him with his overbearing anxiety and unhappiness.

    Virgil eventually went to sleep again, this time much earlier. Only around 1:00 in the morning.

    When he woke up the next day, he found a small purple gift box placed on his bedside table. He read the sticky note on it.

    _Sorry I didn’t get to see you yesterday, kiddo! Also, I’m usually so busy during work that I can’t text you guys, and you’re usually asleep by the time I get home, so I’m sorry I haven’t been doing that either. Anyway, you seemed really sad before when we talked about this, so have this gift!_

    The note was written in very sloppy handwriting, still legible, but nonetheless comparable to a child’s. Patton had scribbled his name at the bottom of the note in the same messy handwriting.

    When Virgil opened the box, he saw a fairly expensive box of do-it-yourself hair dye. It was a slightly brighter purple than he had dyed it before, but was overall a nice color. It was similar to lavender, with a bit more pink in it to make it appear somewhat magenta-ish. Of course, that’s only from what Virgil could see on the box.

    _Only one way to find out, I guess_. He sat up from his bed, pulled his favorite hoodie over his head, and walked out to the bathroom to apply it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SANDERS SIDES BELONG TO THOMAS SANDERS  
> Oof we're getting even closer to Roman's big return home. Some big gay from the logicality here. Hope you liked it.  
> Also, for some reason, this chapter has spaces between paragraphs. Idk how to get rid of them.


	5. first impressions & numerous questions

        Virgil glanced into the mirror to check how his hair looked as he stepped out of the shower. His bruise was still aching, but he couldn’t resist trying the hair dye. He wrapped his hair up in one of the towels that were haphazardly thrown on the small rack next to the bathroom door, not caring if the towel becomes stained with purple dye.

        As he got dressed into his hoodie and black, ripped jeans, Virgil would periodically move the towel around on his head to dry his hair more. Due to being in the hospital, he wouldn’t have access to a hairdryer. He would have to make do. When he removed the towel, he was surprised to find that he wasn’t upset by the color. It was, in fact, not that bad. He still thought it was a bit too bright for his taste, but he was still grateful for Patton’s generosity.

        The fact that Patton had given him this gift was surprising to Virgil. Hadn’t Patton already been pushed away by Virgil’s panic attack and overall strangeness? Not to mention his overwhelming amount of flaws.

        These were Virgil’s thoughts as he continued to rub the towel against his head. After he was finally satisfied, his hair no longer dripping, he brought his stuff back with him as he stepped into the hallway. His calf still aching from the bruise, he slowly returned to room 336.

        “Ooh, lookin’ snazzy, kiddo!” Virgil jumped when he heard Patton’s energetic voice, not really expecting it. Patton was sitting on the edge of Logan’s bed, next to said nerd. Patton was holding a phone, and Logan looked somewhat uncomfortable.

 _What is going on?_ Virgil wondered. That’s when he heard a very loud voice boom brought the phone.

        “Oh! Patton, is that the other one you told me about?! Is that Virgil?” The flamboyant voice squealed.

        “Who’s that?” Virgil couldn’t help but ask.

        “Virgil, this is Roman Prince! Remember, the one who plays Evan Hansen?” Patton was beaming and waving him over. So, despite his nervousness at meeting a Broadway star, Virgil sat down on the other side of Patton on Logan’s bed.

        Virgil took only one second to look at this guy before deciding he was _vastly_ different than he had imagined. Of course, he had heard the man sing, because he loved to keep up to date with new arrivals to the Broadway casts of musicals. But he hadn’t expected him to look like this. He didn’t look at all like a scrawny, awkward boy, like the character he played. Instead, he had a chiseled jaw, bright green eyes, wavy coffee-colored hair, and, from what Virgil could see on the small screen, very broad shoulders. No, this man looked like…

        “Wow, I didn’t expect Evan Hansen to look like a preppy fuckboy.”

        Suddenly the room exploded into chaos as Logan suddenly burst out laughing, Patton screeched,  “LANGUAGE!”, and Roman placed his hand to his chest and sounded very offended. Virgil smirked at the chaos he had caused, as well as making Logan laugh. Not an easy feat.

        “Well! It appears I’ll just have to convince your friend of my pure awesomeness, Pat!”

        “Good luck with that, princey,” Virgil mumbled.

        “Excuse me?!” Roman scoffed. Actually _scoffed_. It looks like Virgil was right about his assumptions.

        “Calm down now, guys! You’re all such good people, so I want to introduce you. Roman has already met Logan, like a few minutes ago, so I want you guys to actually introduce yourselves to each other. And, Virgil, no swearing!” Patton actually sounded like a parent scolding them. Roman was the first to actually listen to the demanding nurse.

        “Well, emo nightmare, I am the dashingly handsome Roman Prince. Well known actor across the lands, and only at age 23!” Roman had one hand up in the air, his fingers sort of curled and his palm facing up to the ceiling. It somehow made him look even more obnoxiously egotistical, “I have many talents, like singing, acting, flute, pia—“

        “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Nice list there, so impressive,” Virgil interrupted, waving his hand dismissively. He glanced over at Patton and received a look that was so completely different than Patton’s usual grin. He was glancing between Virgil and the phone, with a look that screamed of paternal disappointment. Virgil sat stunned for a few seconds before reluctantly turning back to the phone, “Fine… I’m Virgil Raine. You can stop… looking at me like that now, Patton.”

        “Yay! I’m so glad you guys are getting along!”

        Roman made a face of disagreement, scrunching up his nose and leaving his mouth open like he was about to speak, but was hesitant to protest. Somehow he still kept up his flamboyant persona, “Now, I wouldn’t exactly say we’re getting along, Patton.”

        “Oh, that’s fine. It takes time to build a friendship!” He beamed.

        Logan attempted to change the subject, seeing Virgil’s annoyed expression, “So Patton, this friend of yours will be visiting in three days?”

        “Not visiting! Coming home for good!” Roman answered for Patton, practically belting out every word, “I’ve got big plans for when I return home, and I simply cannot miss the opportunity to see my bestest friend again!”

        “Oh great. And I’m guessing since your ‘bestest friend’ is working what seems like 24/7, you’re going to be taking over the hospital?” Virgil mumbled bitterly.

        Roman flicked his hand in the air as if the answer was obvious, “Well, duh. Don’t worry, hot topic, I’m not going to bother you or the nerdy one, even if one of you is actually a nice person.” He said, clearly glancing at Logan through the screen.

        “Well, thank you, Roman.” Logan pushed up his glasses, “Despite the fact that you managed to simultaneously compliment me and refer to me as ‘the nerdy one’, your compliment is appreciated.”

        “Does he always use so many big words? He doesn’t even say ‘I’m’ or ‘it’s’. He says ‘I am’ and ‘it is’. It’s strangely weird but also I’m living for it.” Roman threw out more compliments.

        Logan stopped Roman before he continued using his compliments to praise Logan for being better than Virgil, which wasn’t true, “Again, thank you, but I must protest your previous statement. Virgil is in no way a worse person than I am. He is, in fact, the only person I have trusted and confided in for over a year. I would appreciate it if you were to stop using compliments aimed toward me to belittle Virgil for being ‘worse’ than me.”

        Patton, Roman, and Virgil all sat silently, stunned. Virgil was happy that Logan was standing up for him. Patton was simply surprised that Roman would even do that, and even more surprised that he didn’t notice it. Roman was just plain shocked at how quickly Logan had figured him out. Roman wasn’t even intentionally trying to hurt the emo nightmare. He just wanted to express his appreciation for Logan, who he presumed was the nicer one, which would have therefore made him nicer to Patton. Roman had assumed that neither one of the boys really needed Virgil. He just seemed so negative!

        “I apologize, Virgil.” Roman simply said. No messing around, he was going to make this right by Pat, no matter how much he didn’t like the rude, black and purple-clad boy.

        “What, no nickname, Prince Charming?” Virgil spat back with a sour tone. He was now holding the phone, having taken it from Patton. Roman had always wanted to be referred to as Prince Charming, in a fond and lovingly, yet joking way. Never had he wished to hear it with such sarcasm, and never from such a rude person!

        Roman held back from a fiery remark, simply to keep Patton happy. All he did was roll his eyes and plaster on his smile yet again, “Nope. But I can keep saying them if you like it so much.”

        “Ew, no.”

        Logan struggled to hold back from laughing as Virgil’s face scrunched up in disgust. Roman snorted at the short response.

        “Aww, would you say you’re getting along now?” Patton sounded hopeful.

        “If you wish, Patton, I will try to befriend this embodiment of a dark and stormy night.”

        “Wow, thanks. Didn’t know you were going to start complimenting me now.”

        “It wasn’t a compliment!” Roman screeched indignantly.

        “Thanks anyway,” Virgil said, handing the phone back to Patton.

        “What is it like being on Broadway, Roman?” Logan changed the subject.

        “Oh, it’s magnificent!” Roman squealed, and Virgil could sense the impending doom of an overly-dramatic rant, “It was stressful at first, trying to memorize lines. Mainly because I already knew the show by heart and the others didn’t! Anyway, once they got the hang of it, practices were simply amazing!” Roman’s grin grew fond as he spoke of the memories, “Every Friday when practice let out late at night, the cast and crew would all get together and raid one of the nearby restaurants. There were so many to choose from! It was New York, after all. Now that I only have two more shows left before someone else comes to take the part, I’ve been working to make each performance even better than the last! Not an easy feat, trying to best yourself, or at least your previous performance, every single night.” Roman shared the stories of his performance and behind the scenes drama and antics. Virgil was quietly groaning throughout the whole speech, wishing he could magically make the dramatic idiot shut up.

        Roman’s speech lasted for fifteen minutes. _Fifteen minutes_ without a single pause. Virgil was dying, Logan was trying to be polite, despite his slight annoyance, and Patton was listening intently even though he had heard these stories before.

        When Roman finally took a short pause in his ramblings, Virgil rushed in to bring up a topic that the egotistical brat wouldn’t have billions of stories on.

        Unluckily for him, Virgil had decided to bring up classical music, naively thinking Roman would be the type to listen to annoying pop music. Roman and Patton began to tell stories of their time in band together. It was slightly more bearable with Patton also speaking.

        They talked about concert band, marching band, and jazz band. Even pit orchestra for the school musicals, which Patton was in while Roman was onstage.

        While Virgil sat with his head lying on the palm of his hand, bored out of his mind, Logan was actually interested. While he wasn’t very fond of musicals, he loved music. It is very difficult to learn to play an instrument and it takes a great deal of time and practice, both of which are very admirable to Logan. Not to mention the fact that reading sheet music is essentially math with difficult rhythms and different-length notes added in. The fundamentals of playing an instrument intrigued him.

        Soon enough though, Patton had to leave, like always. He hung up with Roman after having an extremely long goodbye. Then Patton did the most unexpected thing.

        He leaned over and pulled Virgil and Logan into a giant group hug, said goodbye, and then ran out the door while waving back to them.

        “As much as I did not anticipate that,” Logan said, “I am honestly not surprised.”

        Virgil sighed. “Yeah. Wouldn’t expect anything different from Patton, I guess.”

        “Not at all,” Logan paused for a second, “Did you notice Roman’s bracelet? It is a red version of Patton’s.”

        “Patton has a bracelet?”

        “Yes. Did you not notice? It is a blue bracelet that says ‘BFFS.’” Logan struggled to say the abbreviation because he hated it with a passion. Why not just say best friends?

        “Ohhh, yeah. Now I remember.”  Virgil suddenly got an idea, and a smirk grew on his face, “What else have you noticed about Patton?”

        Logan, despite being confused by Virgil’s sudden shift in expression, answered his question, “He wears different shoes every day. His glasses are nearly identical to mine, except the shape is slightly different. He has freckles, and he has light blue eyes.”

        “Wow, that much, huh?” Virgil said with the smirk still present.

        “Yes? You should know by now that I am very observant Virgil.”

        “Okay, if you’re so observant of everything, what was the color of the wall behind Roman?”

        Logan opened his mouth to respond, then slowly closed it as he realized he did not have the answer.

        “Aha!” Virgil exclaimed.

        “What are you attempting to prove here, Virgil?”

        “That you are ’extra observant’ of Patton because you _like him_.”  Virgil said the last two words with a taunting --yet simultaneously joking-- tone of voice.

        “Of course I like him. He is kind and shows both you and I respect, unlike anyone else in this hospital. He is a great friend.”

        Virgil groaned and flopped back onto the bed, his face in his hands, “Nooo. That’s not what I meant.”

        “Then explain. You have to convey your message clearly. You are extremely vague, Virgil.”

        “Like him _romantically_ ,” Virgil emphasized.

        “Virgil, I’ve known him for four days.”

        “So have I! But I haven’t noticed his freckles or his eye color. Those aren’t normal things that people just happen to notice. Especially people with not-so-great eyesight.” Virgil crossed his arms.

        “Virgil, listen. I do not have romantic feelings for a man I met four days ago.”

        “Does that mean if you wait a little longer you’ll realize it?”

        “There is nothing to realize,” Logan said, actually believing it. He wasn’t lying.

        “Sure.” Virgil decided to drop the subject. He wasn’t getting anywhere. Maybe Logan didn’t like Patton that way, but who knows? Virgil could still have his ships.

 

——

 

        Later that day, Virgil was sitting on his bed scrolling through Tumblr while eating the dinner that was just delivered by another nurse. He then got a notification from an unknown number.

        ‘Hey, kiddo!’ The message said.

        Virgil responded right away, ‘patton?’

        ‘Yep!’ Patton sent back with a smiling emoji.

        ‘oh hi.’

        ‘Can you tell Logan that this is my number? I don’t want him to be weirded out when a random number texts him. Also, I’m gonna make us a group chat!’

        ‘k’ Virgil texted back.

        Virgil looked up from his phone and told Logan, “Hey, Patton’s gonna make us a group chat. So don’t freak out when you get a random text.”

        Logan looked up from his book, “Alright?” He said, right as they both got two notifications on their phone.

**You have been added to a group chat by the number 707-555-815**

**707-555-815 has renamed the group chat to “Best Friends!! :)”**

        Of course, for Virgil’s notifications, he already had Patton in his contacts. The number was replaced with “patton” instead.

        There was a short pause, during which Logan added Patton as a contact in his phone. They got another notification:

        Patton: Hey guys! This is awesome! I probably won’t be able to talk on here all the time tho.

        Roman: That’s perfectly fine, Pat!

        Virgil: hold on, he’s on here?

        Roman: Of course, doom and gloom. Patton is my best friend, after all.

        Virgil glared down at his phone. It made sense that Roman was involved, but he hoped this was only for him, Logan, and Patton. Besides, Roman was incredibly rude.

        Well, at least to him.

        The texting chain continued for most of the day, despite Patton’s business. He usually popped in and out of the conversation randomly.

        Logan, Virgil, and Roman, meanwhile, were talking about random things, mostly musicals and theatre due to Roman taking over the conversations.

        Virgil and Roman were arguing most of the time, too.

 

——

 

        Stepping out of his bathroom after having brushed his teeth, Patton sits down on his bed and looks down at his phone. He feels his cat rub his face against his hand, and he stops to pet him and pull him up in his lap.

        “Heya, Sal,” Patton said fondly, running his hand over the smooth fur on his back.

        He returned to his phone and scrolled through the group chat to see the texts he had missed. While doing so, he continued petting Sal. After a few minutes, Patton finished reading. He shut off his lamp and pulled the covers over him, pulling Sal closer to his to snuggle.

 _They’re getting along,_ Patton thought to himself with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, Roman is introduced. Virgil hates him, obviously, and the feelings are EXTREMELY mutual. Some more hardcore shipping of Logicality from Virgil.


	6. group chats & coming back

            Virgil squinted at his blindingly bright phone in the dark room. He had just received a notification in the group chat at 4:30 A.M.

            annoying piece of shit: Good morning Patton! <3

            Virgil glared at his phone and sent ‘did you really have to tell him good morning on the group chat?’

            annoying piece of shit: Of course! I was hoping to wake you up, too.

            virgil: why? also you’re lucky logan’s phone is on silent and he isn’t being woken up by this. otherwise i’d drive to new york and personally kill you.

            annoying piece of shit: I just wanted to annoy you. No big deal.

            Pat: Virgil, were you the one who changed Roman’s name to that? Also thanks for the good morning, Ro!

            virgil: yep.

             **Pat changed ‘annoying piece of shit’s name to ‘Ro’**

            Ro: Why, thank you, Patton! Also you’re welcome!

            The conversation continued similarly until 5:00 when Patton left for work. Virgil then shut off his phone and collapsed back onto his bed. He fell asleep instantaneously.

 

——

 

            As he stepped out of his car, Patton breathed in the fresh air. He wasn’t much of a morning person, but he might as well enjoy it. The sun had just risen and the air was warm with a slight breeze. Due to it being late September, the mornings weren’t cold.

            Patton practically skipped into the building, happily thinking of how well his friends are getting along. Patton remembered how he stopped getting notifications after he said he’d leave. Virgil had probably gone back to sleep.

            Patton strolled through the halls, reaching the staff room to drop off his bag. He usually brought a satchel that had random things he needed during the day. Lunch, his phone, some ingredients to bring to the cafeteria.

            Patton headed to the cafeteria with his ingredients for breakfast. He was petitioning to get the owners of the hospital to order the stuff regularly, but for now he wasn’t upset with supplying the food. When he reached the kitchen he helped the kitchen staff make pancakes and waffles again. Thankfully, it was slightly easier this time, but that was only because the cook from last time was gone.

            “He probably ditched work.” A female cook said when Patton asked.

            “Oh.” Patton hoped that wasn’t true. He knew there were people that ignored important things like work and school, but he had hope that it wouldn’t happen at a hospital. These people were sick, why hurt them by not being there?

            The food had gotten significantly better than it had been in the past week, and Patton told the kitchen staff so, “Guys! You’re improving so much.” He grinned.

            “Wow, thanks.” The female cook from before said, but it sounded very sarcastic. Her name was Gretchen, which she admitted after Patton wouldn’t stop asking.

            “I mean it. It’s good that you guys are doing better.” Patton refused to drop his smile.

            Gretchen gave up on trying to be rude, knowing Patton was determined to remain optimistic.

            Soon, the intercom came on to tell the patients that breakfast was prepared and that they’d be able to come down to eat for the next hour.

            Patton poked his head out of the door after five minutes of serving patients. His smile grew when he saw Logan and Virgil enter the cafeteria. Virgil was still limping slightly due to his bruise, but Logan was constantly glancing back at him to make sure he wouldn’t fall. Logan had told Patton during one of their conversations that they only come to the cafeteria when necessary.

            While they were standing in the doorway, just barely in the cafeteria, Virgil looked up. He glanced around and spotted Patton. He smiled and grabbed Logan’s arm to get his attention. Virgil pointed in the direction of Patton and Logan’s gaze followed, but not quick enough.

            Patton had already dashed across the cafeteria and tackled Logan in a hug. The hug lasted a few seconds. After letting go, he hugged Virgil more gently, knowing his bruise was still aching.

            Logan had stood still during the hug, having been caught off guard. He had a look of surprise on his face as he looked down at Patton hugging Virgil. His expression shifted to fondness at sight. He was surprised at how fast he had let Patton into his life, and Virgil’s as well. He would rarely let anyone in the hospital anywhere near Virgil.

            Patton let go of Virgil after a few seconds, and Virgil looked just as shocked as Logan felt. They should probably know by now that hug attacks were going to be a regular thing if they were going to keep Patton around.

            “Hi guys!” Patton was grinning, and slightly out of breath due to the running, “I missed you so much!”

            “It has only been a few hours since you have seen us, Patton.” Logan said.

            “I know. And I don’t care,” he said with the tone of voice you’d expect from a child trying to act mature. It suited his personality to do something like that.

            Virgil snorted slightly at that, “We missed you too, Pat.”

            “Awww, thank you, Virgil!” Patton put more emphasis on Virgil’s name while glancing slightly at Logan.

            Logan sighed, “Yes, we did miss you.”

            “Yay!” Patton pulled both men into a hug again, and after pulling away, led them into the cafeteria.

            Patton sat them down at a table and then ran back into the kitchen.

            “Sooo… you missed him?” Virgil said condescendingly.

            “You said you missed him, too.” Logan responded.

            “That’s true, I did. But _I’m_ not crushing on —”

            Virgil stopped talking when he saw Patton approaching with three plates of food. Two of the plates were exactly what Logan has ordered last time for him and Virgil. The other had pancakes that were drenched in syrup.

            Logan glanced around after Virgil stopped talking so suddenly. Logan didn’t see Patton at first because the nurse had been in his peripheral vision. After turning and seeing him, Logan glared at Virgil, signaling him to keep his mouth shut. Virgil smirked back at Logan, telling him that he _might_ stay quiet. The two went back and forth, having a conversation using only facial expressions.

            When Patton finally reached the table, Logan and Virgil directed their attention at the nurse. Patton gave each of them their plate, then set his own down in front of the chair next to Logan.

            Virgil glanced between Logan and Patton’s plate while Patton was sitting down. His smirk was still present as he directed Logan’s attention to the fact that Patton chosen to sit next to him.

            Logan rolled his eyes at Virgil, choosing to ignore him instead of shutting him up. _The latter would only make Patton suspicious_ , Logan thought, _and then Virgil would lie, saying that I am romantically interested in Patton._  

            To Virgil’s dismay, Patton brought up the worst topic of conversation. At least Logan was content knowing it would distract Virgil from his “ships.”

            “So, what did you guys think of Roman?” Patton asked.

            Virgil opened his mouth to say something negative, but instead, he grumbled something incoherent. He didn’t want to hurt Patton’s feelings by saying something mean about his best friend. Even though that best friend was unbearably annoying.

            Logan decided to answer instead, “He is alright. A little too flamboyant, but otherwise interesting. However, I did not like how he treated Virgil.”

            “Oh, I know. I told him to be nice to Virgil. I don’t want you guys fighting.” Patton responded.

            “Patton, I really don’t need you to protect me like that. I’m fine. Roman’s just a little rude.” Virgil defended himself.

            “I have no clue why! He’s so nice to other people.” Patton sighed, “And I know I don’t have to defend you from him.”

            Logan continued Patton’s thought, “I suppose it’s just in your nature to be caring.”

            “Aww, thanks, Lo.”

            Virgil looked down at the table while Logan and Patton continued to talk. Sometimes he felt like he was… annoying to the people around him. Of course, it happened much more often before he met Logan, but Virgil still felt like he was being treated like a child sometimes. That was especially common whenever he compared himself to Logan, and now more recently, Patton. Being 19 years old and only 5’2”, as well as extremely scrawny, Virgil sometimes felt like a whiny little teenager around the 26-year-old, 6’1” tall Logan. As an adult who was also significantly taller than Virgil, as well as more mature and overall more attractive, Logan seemed like someone who should be embarrassed to be around Virgil. Yet, apparently, he’s not. So Virgil, with his completely paranoid thoughts, assumes he’s being a nuisance around Logan. He is usually able to avoid these thoughts, but they’re swarming back right now at the idea of Patton ‘protecting’ him. It’s exactly the same situation, except Patton is more emotionally secure than Virgil. They are both better than him in their own ways.

            “Virgil…?” He heard through his haze of thoughts.

            “Huh?”

            “You’ve been staring at the table for a while now, kiddo. Are you okay? You’ve had like three bites of your food.” Patton seemed concerned.

            Great, more concern. Exactly what he needed.

            “I’m fine. I just… have a headache, or something.” His voice gradually decrescendoed into a mumble. Virgil glanced up to see Logan and Patton looking at him. They glanced back at each other, and then Logan looked up at the rusting clock on the brick wall above the serving area.

            “Well, breakfast is about to end. If you don’t feel well, we should get you back to the room.” Logan suggested.

            “Okay.” Virgil hesitated, but he did not protest. He knew Logan would try to help him up the stairs, despite that being the exact opposite of what he wanted right now. But he’d endure it for the time being.

 

——

 

            After laying in bed for what felt like ages, it was finally dark outside. For once, Virgil could see a few stars out the window. They rarely appear due to light pollution, mainly because they live in California. He watched them for a bit rather than instantly going to his phone for entertainment.

            As bad as Virgil knew it would be to let his mind wander, he did. He thought back to that morning. Before they sat down, he was having so much fun. Patton was hugging him, he was making fun of Logan… so much _good_ was happening. So why did he still think such horrible things? Of course he knows that Logan and Patton are both better than him, but…

            He had no clue. He didn’t know why they bothered to stay with him. Obviously Logan had no choice. He could move rooms, but he’d still be near Virgil. Patton could leave easily. He could quit, or just never show up to room 336 ever again. They could both leave _so_ easily… so why hadn’t they?

            Virgil sighed. I guess he just wouldn’t know. He could ask, but that would lead to more concern for him, and he didn’t need that. He didn’t need them to become too attached. Obviously Logan had, it’s been a year. But Virgil needed safety in knowing that if either of them left one day, Logan wouldn’t be sad to see him go. 

            However, Virgil had already broken that promise to himself. He’d let Logan know a lot about him. He’d just have to be more careful around Patton. He didn’t want to hurt him. _It’s not right to be selfish and want to keep them for himself. They should make the choice to be with someone so horrible,_ His thoughts were speeding up, racing through his mind. He felt like he was hyperventilating a bit.

            He quickly pulled out his phone and played “You Will Be Found”, a song that usually calms him down. It worked, and he just listened to the music and hummed quietly.

            Then he thought about Roman. He technically _was_ the character he was listening to, and that made him shut the song off quickly.

            The only good thing about Roman was the fact that he might make Patton keep some distance between himself and Virgil, which was now apparently what Virgil wanted. It was for Patton’s well-being. Yeah.

            His thoughts were confusing sometimes. He had no clue what he really even wanted.

            He picked up his phone again and began playing some classical music, his second choice when it came to calming music. It was still playing when he fell asleep.

 

——

 

            Logan woke up to the quiet sound of Raindrops by Fredrick Chopin. He wondered if Virgil had a rough night. He rarely listened to music while he was asleep unless he had some troubling thoughts.

    He glanced at the clock and saw that it was 9:17, breakfast was currently happening, and he’d have to head down if he wanted to get anything. He climbed out of bed and put on more appropriate clothing to go out in public. Black jeans, a dark blue polo shirt, and a white tie.

            He walked down the steps and into the cafeteria, anticipating the wonderful smell of bacon that would waft through the door when he opened it. Instead, he got the stench that he had been accustomed to for over a year, yet had forgotten over the past 6 days. His nose instantly scrunched up in disgust at the atrocious smell.

    Logan walked over to the counter and saw an array of the usual mushy goop that he had learned to avoid after his first day trying it. He walked away from the counter and asked no further questions.

            When he arrived back at the room, he made coffee for himself and Virgil, knowing they would have to wait until lunch when the food was slightly more bearable.

            He wondered where Patton was.

 

——

 

            Patton was running around his house getting everything ready for tonight. Roman would be showing up around 1:30 in the morning, and Roman would obviously be ready to collapse by then. His flight leaves at 11:00, because he would be doing his last performance and celebrating afterward, and he’d only show up in California at 1:30 due to timezones. Then the magic of jet lag would set in.

            So, beds were made, the kitchen was cleaned, and Patton went to the store to stock up some of his best friend’s favorite foods. Soon, the house was ready for Roman to move in.

            He had called off work earlier that day, and now that all of his chores were done, he decided to tell the group chat. It was later in the day, around sunset, and Patton kinda knew he should have told Logan and Virgil he would be gone earlier. He seemed a little apologetic as he typed:

            Pat: Heyyy guys I called off work today so that I could Prince-proof the house.

            virgil: nice. ‘prince-proof.’

            Ro: Hey! It’s an important step to take when moving in with someone this magnificent!

            virgil: magnificent? here, let me offer some better suggestions: stuck-up, pretentious, high-maintenance…

            Logan: Why must you always fight on here? I hate getting notifications all the time.

            virgil: literally just turn off your phone, we’re in the same room

            virgil: guys he’s reading fucking sherlock

            Pat: First of all, language! Second of all, of course he would be. :)

            Patton put his phone down for a bit while he turned on the TV, but he just continued talking to the group anyway, ignoring whatever show came on.

            virgil: why are you even here, roman? aren’t you having fun with your cast members. It’s like 10:00 or something where you are.

            Ro: yes, I am at the final cast party before I come back. Why do you care?

            virgil: i was just trying to remind you of other stuff around you so that you’d pay attention to that instead. don’t want you here.

            Ro: Of course you don’t. But don’t worry, you’ll be able to see me in all of my beauty tomorrow.

            virgil: great. exactly what i wanted. can you sense the sarcasm?

            Patton smiled at their arguing. Obviously, they’re just having fun.

 

——

 

            Patton’s excitement built more and more as the dashboard clock in his car approached 1:30. He was driving toward the airport, and Roman was almost here. He pulled into the parking lot and found a spot. Afterward, he practically bolted into the building, despite his tiredness at staying up so late. But it had to be done.

            He found the baggage reclaim area and waited in a chair nearby. He checked his phone again and again, and it was getting even closer to 1:30.

            Patton had waited such a long time to see his best friend again, and he was so excited to spend more time with him. He hated separating after high school, but at least they both cared enough to stay in touch and eventually meet again.

            Patton glanced up from his phone and saw a bright red suitcase covered in various stickers. The stickers consisted of pride flags, musicals, and various emojis. He knew Roman would be showing up any second now.

            But when Roman _did_ show up, Patton wasn’t prepared for what he did: He jumped up so quickly and tackled Roman in a massive hug. Patton barely had the time to think about his actions before he did them. He was just so excited!

            Roman laughed and picked up Patton and spun him while they hugged. He grabbed his luggage and they chatted the whole way back to Patton’s house.

            When they arrived, Roman walked through the door like it was his own house, and Patton was more than happy to see him settling in.

            Roman sighed, “Patton, I missed this place so much. Thank you for letting me stay again.” He smiled at the shorter man.

            “Of course. You’re always gonna be my freshman, Ro.” Patton referenced to their time in marching band when, as a Junior, Patton had claimed Roman as his freshman within the flute section.

            Patton showed Roman his room and Roman instantly collapsed, not even changing into pajamas. Patton went back to his room and did exactly the same.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp. I have made my triumphant return from a long period of writer’s block, depression, and general uninspiredness! I guess the “Dealing with Intrusive Thoughts” video sparked my creativity and inspiration again.  
> Also, for you crazy theorists out there, no, Remus is not at all influencing Virgil. I get that my human version of Virgil has some intrusive thoughts, but that aspect of his personality came long before Remus was introduced.  
> However, both Deceit and Remus will definitely be in this story, probably later though.


	7. fond memories & teasing 'enemies'

            The next morning is hectic, just like Patton had expected it to be.

            His alarm goes off at 4:00, just like it always does. But this time, he could hear a groan of protest and some mumbling about ‘beauty sleep’ through the wall connecting to Roman’s room.

            Patton giggled to himself and got up, shutting the alarm off. He stretched for a bit, and then walked downstairs to the kitchen to begin making breakfast.

            He cooked up bacon, eggs, and pancakes for himself and Roman. He knew that Roman would get up soon, even though it was early. He always woke up when someone else in the house was awake.

            Sure enough, Roman soon walks through the door to the kitchen and plops down on one of the chairs surrounding Patton’s large, light-colored wooden table. He groaned, and began eating without much thought once Patton placed in front of him. In his sleepy haze, Roman also somehow pet Sal, who had jumped up into the table, without even paying any attention to him.

            “Morning, sleeping beauty,” Patton teased.

            “Sure am,” Roman mumbled through a mouthful of eggs.

            They ate quietly for a bit while Roman attempted to regain his alertness. He sipped at coffee filled with milk, cream, and sugar.

            “So, are you excited to see the hospital today? I’m going to introduce you to as many patients as possible. There are a lot of Dear Evan Hansen fans,” Patton smiled.

            “Oh, of course. I’ll probably come later. You know damn well I’m going to collapse again once you leave,” Roman grinned, “But yeah, maybe around noon or something. I gotta sleep and shower to look great for these fans.”

            Patton had finished his meal already. He learned to eat quickly so that he could wake up at 4:00 (which was early enough, thank you) and still have time to get ready.

            Patton got up from the table and headed to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed. He emerged about half an hour later with slightly wet hair, his normal blue scrubs, and his bracelet. He also had socks that were covered in cats and dogs. Roman smiled when he saw the socks.

            “I remember you always wore those to Wednesday practices for crazy socks night,” He remembered fondly.

            “I miss high school, too, Roman, but think about the future!” Patton practically radiated positivity, “You’re a star now. There’s so much good waiting up for you.”

            Roman smiled at the sentiment, “Thanks, Pat. You’re always so optimistic. I have no idea how you do it.”

            They chatted for a bit longer, but eventually Roman got up, hugged Patton, and walked back to his room to get some rest.

            Patton put on a pair of yellow converse with grey cats in place of the converse logo, and walked out the door.

 

——

 

            “I’m really not excited for today,” Virgil suddenly said to Logan as they were eating their breakfast.

            “Why?” Logan asked with a raised eyebrow.

            “Roman is definitely coming here today. Patton seemed so excited about Roman moving in with him last night. No doubt he’s bringing Roman along to the hospital.”

            “Oh, come on. Roman is not that bad. Maybe he will not even interact with you.”

            Virgil sounded disbelieving, “Okay, sure.” He had to shut up about the topic of conversation anyway, because Patton was approaching their table.

            “Hi guys! Aren’t you excited?!” Patton was bouncing up and down while he asked the question.

            Virgil groaned, “Yeah, I guess.”

            “He’s the most excited to meet you two.” Patton grinned innocently. He had no clue that that sentence was exactly what Virgil  _ did not _ want to hear.

            Virgil glanced up at Logan with an expression that simultaneously screamed, ‘I told you so’ and ‘help me.’

            “That sounds wonderful, Patton. We are excited to meet him in person.” Logan ignored the glare he received.

            Virgil tried to move on to another topic, “You look kinda tired today, Patton.”

            “Oh, yeah,” Patton smiled despite the slight bags under his eyes, “I usually go to bed around 10:30, but I stayed up until 1:45-ish last night picking up Roman from the airport and driving him back.

            Logan sensed Virgil’s growing annoyance at the topic of Roman continually being brought up, so he says something that would obviously have nothing to do with Roman. Obviously that was his only reason to say, “I like your shoes today, Patton.”

            “Aw! Thank you, Lo!” Patton beamed at the compliment.

            Virgil perked up immediately. Now was his chance.

            “You know, Patton… we both really like being around you. We think you’re really fun and nice. Especially Logan. He also likes all of your shoes. He told me how he noticed you wear different ones every day.”

            “Wow. I didn’t expect so many compliments today. Thank you.” Patton said awkwardly, yet sincerely, through his shy smile.

            Logan narrowed his eyes at Virgil in a sort of half-glare, so as not to make Patton suspicious. Virgil had to struggle to keep his laughter in when he saw the expression.

            They finished up their meals and Patton gave them both massive hugs before they returned to their room.

_ I love hugging tall people _ , Patton thought while his arms were around Logan’s torso,  _ They’re always so warm, and you can hear their heartbeat and smell-- _

            Wait, what? Patton let go pretty quickly and, while smiling, awkwardly scratched the back of his neck, “Uhh, well bye guys!” He practically bolted back to the kitchen.

            “Hm. Weird,” Virgil said with a slight smirk, “He didn’t react that way when he hugged  _ me _ , Logan.”

            Logan just glanced down at Virgil with an ‘I’m tired of your bullshit’ expression. Virgil laughed and they headed back up to their room.

 

——

 

            “Oh no,” was all Virgil could say before the door busted open. He had heard some loud voices in the hall and knew exactly what was coming.

            Roman and Patton were now in their room and Patton was introducing Roman to Logan, but Virgil had tuned out of the conversation. He needed to collect his thoughts. He was sitting up on his bed with his knees pulled up to his chest and his phone in his hands. He held on tighter to the phone and continued to look down at his knees. He was anticipating the arguing and name-calling by Roman. So what? He had gotten used to that sort of thing over the past couple of years.

            Virgil looked up and saw Roman glancing back and forth between him and the general direction of Patton and Logan.

            Virgil dropped his knees away from his chest slightly and immediately snapped, “What?”

            Patton and Logan continued their conversation as Roman walked over to Virgil, “Just looking. You’re smaller than I had imagined.”

            “Wow, thanks,” Virgil said sarcastically.

            Roman kneeled down next to Virgil’s bed, “Don’t be like that. I want to try to get along with you. Mainly just to make Patton happy, but if I can make you a little less grumpy as well, that’d be a bonus.” Roman smiled.

            “Ugh, why are you so… optimistic? You’re like Patton in that way, I guess, but your ego just makes you seem like you’re definitely not being genuine.”

            Roman groaned, “You’re making my effort to befriend you very difficult.”

            “Good.” Virgil fake-smiled at Roman and returned to his phone.

            After a few seconds, he realized that Roman still had not moved.

            “Why are you still here?” Virgil glanced up and saw that Roman was looking at Patton and Logan with a mischievous expression.

            “I think I sense romance.” Roman said in a sing-songy voice.

            “Well, there’s at least one thing we agree on. They’re definitely perfect for each other.” Virgil looked up from his phone and at Roman instead.

            “Great. You’re my partner in crime now,” Roman suddenly said, not looking away from Patton and Logan.

            “What is that supposed to mean?”

            “You help me get them together,” He said it in a voice that implied it was the most obvious thing in the world.

            Virgil looked a bit weirded out, “First of all, I’m not spending more time with you than what is strictly necessary. Second of all, let them figure it out for themselves.”

            “No, you don’t get it. Whenever Patton finds someone attractive he takes  _ AGES _ to tell them how he feels. He might not even tell them at all! I have a feeling that Logan is the same way.” Roman speculated, turning back to face Virgil.

            “It’s more along the lines of ‘I’m attracted to blank but I refuse to admit it to myself and before I know it they’re gone and have moved on’ sort of deal with Logan.”

            “See?!” Roman said dramatically, falling back slightly onto the bed, “They need our help, dark and stormy night.”

            Virgil lightly shoved Roman’s shoulders off the edge of his mattress, “Using a nickname more than once, huh? I thought the mAGnIfICenT ROmAn pRinCE was better than that,” Virgil said mockingly.

            “Despite your tone of voice, I will accept that you called me magnificent as a win.” Roman smirked.

 

——

 

            Meanwhile, Patton and Logan had been talking about Roman and Virgil.

            “It looks like they're getting along. I don’t want to interrupt their conversation. They’re both smiling,” Patton said through his own smile. He loved seeing his long time best friend get along with his new ones.

            “Yes, it appears to be that way. I believe Virgil will take a long time to adjust, however. Especially since I have no doubt that you will be inviting him here every day?”

            “Well, yeah! Roman’s always welcome to come to work with me.” Patton’s smile then shifted to a look of slight confusion, and he tilted his head slightly when he asked, “You’re okay with that, right?”

            Logan immediately said, “Of course.” How could he say no?

            “Yay!” Patton gave Logan another hug. A quick one this time. He didn’t want to get lost in his thoughts again. What happened earlier was weird.

            Logan glanced over Patton’s head during the hug and saw that Roman was smiling, probably due to something he said to Virgil, because Virgil was definitely not smiling.

            When he and Patton ended the hug, he walked over with Patton and they sat down on Logan’s bed, joining Roman and Virgil’s conversation. Logan’s reason for joining was mostly to save Virgil from the urge to strangle Roman.

            After a few minutes of talking, Roman says, “You know… Patton always tells me about how room 336 is his absolute favorite room to visit. He loves you guys a lot.”

            “Roman!” Patton blushed, “Why’d you tell them that?” He whined in embarrassment.

            “Well, it’s true! People deserve to know if they’re ever the favorite of someone so wonderful.” Roman said in response to Patton’s embarrassment, making the blushing even worse.

            “Well, thank you, Patton,” Logan said, “I am sure you have heard this from many other patients as well, but you are the most kind nurse that has ever walking into this building.”

            Virgil smiled at their conversation. He had doubted he was worth anything to Patton since the day he arrived, and he was still somewhat skeptical, but he quieted his brain by tuning in exclusively to the others’ voices. Virgil stayed silent. However, he did wear a contented smile on his face, so the others assumed he was happy just to listen, which he was.

            Virgil was still slightly annoyed whenever Roman would go on a long rant about a story or whatever, but he didn’t complain.

            Eventually the two had to leave, because Patton had promised some other patients the chance to meet Roman, and it was almost dinner time anyway.

            Logan and Virgil stayed silent for the rest of the night after their meal. Logan reading more Sherlock and Virgil scrolling aimlessly through tumblr and reddit. They were pretty happy being silent, though.

_ You’re letting him get too close to you _ , Virgil’s brain whispered as he edged closer and closer to sleep. Virgil managed to shut up the voice by humming some Dear Evan Hansen songs. The thought of Roman didn’t really cross his mind, so he was happy with the songs, anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've gone back and changed up some previous chapters. Fixed typos and some inconsistencies or weird sentences. Some have small changes, some have larger changes. Usually I just added more detail to specific scenes.  
> Hope you all enjoy the new chapter :)


	8. fracturing dams & forming plans

            The next morning, Virgil’s mind was not as easy to shut off. He woke up around 6:30 a.m, long before Logan woke up. It was also much earlier than Virgil was used to. However, his mind wandered to the same thoughts he had the night before.

            He knew he was letting Patton get too close to him. He had made the promise to himself to keep out of Patton’s life as much as possible. He obviously wouldn’t tell Patton to leave, because that would hurt the innocent man to hear. He would just wait for Patton to figure out Virgil’s horribleness on his own.

            At least he hadn’t told Patton too much yet. Virgil had kept a lot of secrets from him. Even Logan didn’t know everything.

 

——

 

            He stayed awake, messing around on his phone for many hours until Logan eventually woke up and got them breakfast.

            “I’m going to go take a shower,” Logan said after finishing his meal. Virgil just nodded and watched him leave. A few minutes later, Patton came in.

            “Hey kiddo!”

            Virgil cringed, anticipating the loud and obnoxious Roman to follow him, but it was just Patton.

            “No Roman?” Virgil asked, despite his better judgement.

            “Why? Do you want to see him? Are you guys getting along?!” Patton happily yelled.

            “No!” Virgil looked shocked at his sudden outburst, and quickly tried to correct himself when he saw Patton’s smile fading, “I mean...not yet. He’s still pretty annoying but I’m sure we’ll get along soon. He’s… nice, at least. We’re just joking around, y’know? Playful teasing?” Virgil hoped that would be enough to make Patton happy again.

            “Um… okay.” Patton seemed like he didn’t believe Virgil, but he was smiling a little more, so that was better than nothing.

            “Well, uh… why are you here?” Virgil asked.

            “I wanted to see you, obviously!”

            “What about Logan?”

            Patton waved his hand, “I talk to Logan a lot. I really like him, but I never get to talk to just you. I want to get to know you better.” Patton smiled sincerely.

_ Oh no, _ Virgil thought,  _ Exactly what I didn’t want. Great. _

            “Well… okay, I guess,” Virgil said anyway.  _ Damn you and your inability to even fucking say no,  _ Virgil internally yelled at himself.

            “Yay!” Patton sat down on the edge of Virgil’s bed, “Sooo… what’s your favorite color?”

_ Starting out easy, at least _ , “Purple.”

            “What’s… your favorite food?”

            “Um… I think I’d say spaghetti.”

            “Ooh. Did anyone ever make it for you as a kid? That was my favorite thing my mom made.”

_ This got bad fast. _

            “Yeah,” Virgil tried to leave it at that.

            “Who?” Patton persisted.

            “... My mom.” Virgil said quietly.

            “Well would you look at that! We have something in common about our moms! That’s cool. Have you ever introduced her to Logan? Will I ever get to meet her?”

_ Shit. _

            Virgil sat still for a while, with an open mouth, trying to say something, but not knowing how to phrase it. He decided to be blunt, “She died when I was 14.”

            Patton’s hands instantly flew to cover his mouth, “Oh no! I’m so sorry for asking,” He paused for a few seconds, “We can… stop talking if you want. I’m sorry.”

            “No, no. It’s okay, I guess.” Virgil wanted to slap himself in the face for crumbling to Patton’s kindness again. He was at least glad that Patton hadn’t shown him pity, only remorse for bringing up the topic. He hated when people said, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ or shit like that. It didn’t help.

            Patton seemed hesitant to continue, “Do you want to ask me any questions?” He seemed scared to bring up any more topics that might hurt Virgil.

            “Sure,” Virgil thought for a moment, and decided to reuse Patton’s question, considering he had no idea what to even ask, “Well… what’s  _ your _ favorite color?”

            “Oh no, I have waaaay too many! I guess if I had to narrow it down… It’d be light blue, yellow, pink, green… just any pastels, really. I don’t know! There are so many to choose from!” It’s the kind of answer you’d expect from a five year old, and Virgil hadn’t believed for a second that he would hear anything different coming from Patton

            “Do you have any hobbies that you like?”

            “Well, you already know about me playing the flute and guitar. But I do like to paint sometimes.” Patton smiled, but it was different than usual. It seemed a little more shy. Maybe he never really shared his paintings with anyone? “Do you have any hobbies?” Patton asked.

            Virgil was stunned for a second.  _ How does Patton keep managing to bring up topics that are so important to Virgil, even through the most simple questions?  _

            Of course Virgil knew the answer, it was the first word that had popped into his head when he heard Patton’s questions. He hesitated, though, because he had never told anyone this, even Logan. The only person who had ever known was his mom. He was embarrassed of his hobby.

            However, Patton’s kind expression and genuine interest made Virgil open up for some reason. Again, and again, he’s told himself to leave Patton alone, to not let him see the horrors of Virgil’s past, but he’d be damned if he didn’t admit that trusting people was one of his weaknesses. Even though he knew it was always a bad idea. Either way, his metaphorical dams broke, and he decided to tell Patton his deepest secret.

            After a few seconds and a shift to confusion in Patton’s expression due to the long wait for an answer, Virgil admitted what his hobby was. Or at least what he wished his hobby was.

            “Dancing.” Virgil was immediately scared of the response.

            “Really?! That’s so cool!” Patton beamed.

            “Um… Thanks, I guess. I haven’t done it in a long time. Ever since… well, a few years ago. I just…” He paused, “stopped. I don’t know.”

            Patton thought of asking,  _ ‘Why did you stop?’ _ , but thought better of it. He thinks he knows why. People lose passion when they stop feeling happy. So he kept up his praise of the hobby.

            “Dancing is such a cool thing to do, but it takes so much practice!” He laughed slightly, “I could never be that dedicated to something.”

            “What about band? Or nursing? You seem pretty dedicated to those things.” Virgil said something optimistic. He was surprised with himself. Well, it was Patton he was talking to after all. His positivity is infectious.

            “Yeah… you’re right. Thanks,” He smiled at Virgil, “But…” Patton’s curiosity got the better of him, “Wouldn’t you ever get hurt badly if you messed up while dancing? Because of your Hemophylio…” He struggled and gave up, “The uh… Christmas Disease?”

            “Yeah. That’s part of the reason why I stopped. I knew I couldn’t pursue it seriously. If I ever messed up, the smallest fall could leave a bruise for weeks, maybe months,” Virgil looked sad as he explained, “Even worse mistakes could lead to massive amounts of bleeding.”

            Patton didn’t say anything for a few seconds, but put a hand on Virgil’s shoulder, “It’s definitely better to follow your dreams, kiddo. I see why you would want to avoid it, but determination could lead you to become such a great dancer that you’d have no fear of getting hurt.”

            “I guess.”

            Virgil knew that it would be dumb to have hope, but Patton was some sort of magical force of positivity, and a slight smile forced itself onto his face anyway at the potential truth of Patton’s words.

            Logan soon walked into the room after his shower, and saw them chatting on Virgil’s bed, back to less serious topics. Logan had no clue about the depth of their conversation. Of course he had already known about the basic story of Virgil’s life before the age of 14, but Virgil had kept the section of his life after his mom’s death very vague to Logan. Virgil never planned to tell anyone that.

            “Oh, hello Patton.” Logan placed his dirty clothes into the laundry basket beside his bed. At this shithole of a hospital they were all expected to wash their own clothes. Logan sat down on his own bed.

            “Hi, Lo,” Patton smiled, but Virgil noticed his slight glance upward at Logan’s slightly messy hair from being towel dried. Virgil’s smile grew, and he covered his mouth with the back of his hand to cover his smile and small laugh,  _ It’s so obvious. _

            Logan then repeated the exact same thing Virgil had said earlier, except more sophisticated. Of course. 

            “Is Roman going to be arriving soon?”

            “Probably,” Patton shrugged.

 

——

 

            They chatted for a few more minutes before Patton left to attend to his duties as a nurse. 

            Lunch had been brought to them by a doctor grumbling under his breath that his nurse had ditched in the middle of the day. When he arrived in the room, he openly complained to Virgil and Logan, who sat there uncomfortably as the man yelled angrily, presumably just needing someone to vent to about his ‘bitchy glorified secretary.’

            A few hours after said lunch delivery, Patton arrived again with Roman, as well a canvas bag filled with board games.

            They all had varying opinions on what game to play, but Roman and Virgil smiled at each other when Patton instantly agreed to Logan’s suggestion of Risk, despite his complete and utter confusion at the rules.

            They quickly moved on to Apples to Apples, which, although significantly more boring than Cards Against Humanity (essentially Apples to Apples’ older, more dirty-minded cousin), was exactly what Virgil, Logan, and Roman would expect Patton to be happy playing.

            They played many different board games, Patton occasionally dipping in and out of the room. He had a job to do after all. Whenever Patton was out of the room, Logan had to desperately try not to bang his head against the wall at Virgil and Roman’s arguments, which Patton usually diffused.

            Patton now treated Virgil a little differently, Virgil noticed. He called him ‘kiddo’ a little less and overall treated him with the same kindness, but also with more respect than Virgil could even believe was possible for someone like him. Suddenly some confession about his horrible past made Patton view him as more mature? He didn’t get it.

            So he asked. 

            He was surprised by his confidence to do so.

            Roman had left to go back home and get his ‘beauty sleep’ and Logan had gone to the bathroom. So, while they were putting away the board games, Virgil said, “You’re treating me differently.”

            “Oh… um…” Patton was stunned a bit by the sudden accusation, which was true, “I hadn’t really noticed it but… I guess I have been doing that. I… think it’s because I now know you’re the type of person who doesn’t really want to be given pity just because they happened to have a bad past.” Patton suddenly backtracked, “At least, I assume that’s what you want. I don’t know. Tell me if I’m wrong?” His voice pitched up at the end like he was uncertain of his assumption and needed confirmation, “I just want you to feel secure around me. I know we only met recently, but I really like being around you, Virgil.” He smiled awkwardly.

            “Oh,” Virgil was kind of speechless. He sounded so genuine, which was not something Virgil was used to in the slightest. He’d come to know that that was Patton’s nature, though. After a few seconds, he said, “Yeah. You’re right. I… really don’t like being shown pity that much. It kinda hurts to hear things like, ‘I’m sorry for your loss’ and things like that. It doesn’t make anything better.” Virgil voiced his thoughts completely, not leaving anything out. He knew he shouldn’t have, but he really couldn’t help it. He was breaking his promise to himself so much today.

            Patton smiled, and placed a hand on Virgil’s shoulder again. More comfort, but it wasn’t patronizing. Not from Patton. “Alright. Good to know.”

            They continued packing up the board games in silence, and when Logan returned, he helped them. Patton gave them both massive hugs before walking toward the door, where he gave a wave, accompanied by a small smile, before closing it.

            Logan glanced up at the rusting clock on the wall, “Well, I will be going to bed now, Virgil. Goodnight.” He shut off the lights and climbed into his bed.

            Virgil was already in his own bed, and although he felt scared at letting Patton know so much about him, he simultaneously felt more secure knowing that more than one trustworthy person knew. He could share the burden, although Virgil didn’t know if that was a good thing.

 

——

 

            Before going to bed that night, Patton went online and scoured the internet for what he was looking for. He bought a special gift for himself, Roman, Logan, and Virgil. Something they could all do together. It was mainly for Virgil, though. Patton hoped he would like it. It might bring them all even closer as friends.

            He logged off his laptop and went to his bedroom, where he flopped onto the bed, his mind content and happy, his plan sitting in the back of his mind.

            Sal jumped up onto the bed and Patton hugged him close. He was excited to tell all of his friends his plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now you all know Virgil's deepest secret. Ooooh.  
> I've had this planned for a while. Virgil with a passion for dancing.  
> There a few cute scenes up ahead, and Patton is not so great at keeping secrets. He does keep Virgil out of it, though.  
> Hope you've enjoyed!
> 
> (Have fun with the cliffhanger... >:)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic, so if anyone ever reads this, tell me what you think, please! I will try to update every two weeks, but if I'm able to, I might post chapters early if I have some ideas.  
> SANDERS SIDES BELONG TO THOMAS SANDERS.  
> 


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